Anchoring systems and methods for marine vessels

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for conveniently providing anchoring assistance onboard a watercraft are provided herein. An example system includes a display and a processor in communication with a marine system. The processor is configured to receive marine data from the marine system and/or one or more user inputs and cause the display to show one or more anchoring locations with visual indications of the anchorage quality index based on at least the marine data and/or user inputs. The one or more anchoring locations may be shown as a heat map overlaid on a map. The system may use real-time marine data, environmental data, weather data, tide data, etc. to dynamically adjust the anchoring locations and anchorage quality index. The system may enable convenient and helpful suggestions and notifications to the user when anchoring a watercraft. Some examples provide automatic deployment of an anchoring system and monitoring of a current anchoring.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the anchoringof marine vessels and, more particularly, to dynamic systems and methodsfor anchoring assistance on a marine vessel.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Anchoring a marine vessel is one of the most difficult tasks for thosenew to boating and can present several challenges to boaters. Knowingwhere, when, and how to anchor a marine vessel is a safety critical taskand an important skill that takes time to develop. When selecting alocation to anchor, there are several factors to consider (e.g., wind,land and seabed topography, depth, tides, currents, vessel type, anchortype), some of which may be dynamically changing with time.

Applicant has developed systems and methods detailed herein to improveand enhance the ability of users to safely perform anchoring activitiesonboard marine vessels (e.g., watercraft).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems andmethods for providing anchoring assistance onboard a watercraft. In someembodiments, the disclosed systems and methods may advantageouslyminimize need for expertise or complicated charts for manually anchoringa marine vessel. In some embodiments, rather than require the user toselect an appropriate anchoring location, an anchoring system mayprovide suggested anchoring locations based on marine data and/or userinputs. Further, in some embodiments, the system may automaticallydeploy the anchor for the user and alert the user if any need forchanges is detected.

The example anchoring systems disclosed herein may display variousanchoring and/or marine data to the user via a screen (e.g.,multi-functional display (MFD), mobile media device). In this way, theexample anchoring systems may indicate processed or converted datarelevant to the anchoring task that may make it easy for the user tounderstand what needs to be considered and what options are availablefor anchoring. For example, in some embodiments, virtual marine imageryand/or data related to anchoring may be displayed to the user along withcurrent environmental data and/or marine vessel status information(e.g., boat position relative to the anchoring location, deployed rodelength of anchor relative to depth of seabed) to improve or enhance theanchoring experience.

In an example embodiment, a marine electronic device configured toprovide possible anchoring locations to a user for a marine vessel isprovided. The marine electronic device comprises a display and aprocessor configured to: receive marine data from a marine systemconnected to the marine vessel, determine one or more anchoringlocations, generate an anchorage quality index for each of the one ormore anchoring locations based on at least the received marine data, andcause the display to show the one or more anchoring locations with avisual indication of the corresponding anchorage quality index for theone or more anchoring locations. The visual indication is variable andreflects the corresponding anchorage quality index for an anchoringlocation. The one or more anchoring locations includes at least a firstanchoring location and a second anchoring location. A first visualindication associated with the first anchoring location is differentthan a second visual indication associated with the second anchoringlocation in an instance in which a first anchorage quality indexassociated with the first anchoring location is different than a secondanchorage quality index associated with the second anchoring location.

In some embodiments, the marine data includes sonar data. In someembodiments, the sonar data includes seabed composition data.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the display toshow the one or more anchoring locations as one or more areas on a map.

In some embodiments, the visual indication is a color along a colorscale. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause thedisplay to show the one or more anchoring locations in the form of aheat map overlaid on a map.

In some embodiments, the one or more areas are circular. In someembodiments, a radius of each of the one or more circular areas is basedon at least a corresponding water depth. In some embodiments, the visualindication is depicted as a radius size of each of the one or morecircular areas.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to generate theanchorage quality index for each of the one or more anchoring locationsbased on at least an anchoring time input by the user.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to receivereal-time environmental data and update the one or more anchoringlocations based on at least the received real-time environmental data.In some embodiments, the real-time environmental data includes at leastone of wind data, tide data, and weather data.

In another example embodiment, a marine electronic device configured toprovide possible anchoring locations to a user for a marine vessel isprovided. The marine electronic device comprises a display and aprocessor configured to receive one or more user inputs, determine oneor more anchoring areas for the marine vessel in response to the one ormore user inputs, generate an anchorage quality index for each of theone or more anchoring areas, and cause the display to show a heat mapindicating the anchorage quality index of the one or more anchoringareas.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to generate theanchorage quality index for each of the one or more anchoring areasbased on at least real-time data. In some embodiments, the real-timedata includes at least one of sonar data, weather data, and tide data.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to generate theanchorage quality index for each of the one or more anchoring areasbased on at least crowd-sourced data.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to determine the one ormore anchoring areas based on at least one of a boat profile, chartdata, and depth data. In some embodiments, the boat profile includes atleast one of an anchor type, a number of anchors, a line length, a bowheight, and a scope ratio.

In some embodiments, the one or more user inputs includes an anchoringtime.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to generate aswing buffer distance required for the marine vessel for anchoring ineach of the one or more anchoring areas and cause the display to show aswing buffer overlay on the heat map indicating the generated swingbuffer distance for each of the one or more anchoring areas.

In yet another example embodiment, a method for planning where to anchora marine vessel is provided. The method comprises receiving one or moreuser inputs; determining one or more anchoring areas for the marinevessel in response to the one or more user inputs; generating ananchorage quality index for each of the one or more anchoring areas; andcausing a display to show a heat map indicating the anchorage qualityindex of the one or more anchoring areas.

In some embodiments, the display is part of a multi-function display onthe marine vessel.

In some embodiments, the display is part of a mobile media device.

In yet another example embodiment, a marine electronic device configuredto provide possible anchoring locations to a user for a marine vessel isprovided. The marine electronic device comprises a display and aprocessor configured to receive one or more user inputs, determine oneor more anchoring areas for the marine vessel in response to the one ormore user inputs, generate an anchorage quality index for each of theone or more anchoring areas, generate a swing buffer distance requiredfor the marine vessel for anchoring in each of the one or more anchoringareas, and cause the display to show a map of the one or more anchoringareas indicating the swing buffer distance and anchorage quality indexgenerated for each of the one or more anchoring areas.

In some embodiments, the one or more user inputs includes at least oneof an anchor type, a number of anchors, a line length, a bow height, anda scope ratio.

In yet another example embodiment, a system for aiding a user inanchoring a marine vessel is provided. The system comprises an anchoringsystem for controlling an anchor of the marine vessel, a location sensorconfigured to detect a current location of the marine vessel, and amarine electronic device comprising a display and a processor. Theprocessor is configured to receive real-time environmental data based onthe current location of the marine vessel, determine one or moreanchoring locations for the marine vessel based on the receivedreal-time environmental data, cause the display to show the one or moreanchoring locations, and receive one or more user inputs indicatingselection of one of the one or more anchoring locations.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause thedisplay to show the selected anchoring location in relation to themarine vessel based on the current location detected by the locationsensor.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to generate analert for the user when the current location of the marine vessel is atthe selected anchoring location.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause theanchoring system to deploy the anchor when the current location of themarine vessel is at the selected anchoring location.

In some embodiments, the real-time environmental data includes at leastone of weather data, wind data, tide data, and sonar data.

In some embodiments, the data from the anchoring system includes alength of rode deployed. In some embodiments, the processor isconfigured to cause the anchoring system to deploy the anchor using acalculated length of rode based on at least depth data at the currentlocation of the marine vessel.

In yet another example embodiment, a system for monitoring an anchoredmarine vessel is provided. The system comprises a location sensorconfigured to detect a current location of the marine vessel and amarine electronic device comprising a display and a processor. Theprocessor is configured to receive real-time environmental data based onthe current location of the marine vessel, determine an anchoragequality index based on the real-time environmental data, and generate analert for the user if the determined anchorage quality index is below apredetermined threshold.

In some embodiments, the system further includes an anchor sensor forsensing an anchor within an anchoring system of the marine vessel.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to determine aswing buffer distance for the marine vessel based on data from theanchor sensor and cause the display to show a map indicating the currentlocation, the anchorage quality index, and the swing buffer distance.

In some embodiments, the marine electronic device is a multi-functiondisplay.

In some embodiments, the real-time environmental data includes at leastone of weather data, wind data, tide data, and sonar data.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing theembodiments as described in the written description and claims hereof,as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are merely exemplary and are intendedto provide an overview or framework to understand the nature andcharacter of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure in generalterms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, whichare not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example marine vessel with a navigation system,marine system, anchor system, and multi-function display attached, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 2 shows an example user interface with dynamically generatedanchoring data on a map including suggested anchoring locations withvisual indications of anchorage quality, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 3 shows the user interface of FIG. 2 with an environmental dataoverlay selected, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 4 shows another example user interface including a heat map ofanchoring locations overlaid on a topographical satellite map, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 5 shows the user interface of FIG. 4 with changes to the heat mapbased on updated environmental data, in accordance with some embodimentsdiscussed herein;

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged section of the user interface of FIG. 4 withthe heat map focused on a tidal exclave, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 7 shows another example user interface including circularrepresentations of suggested anchoring locations with a color scale forthe visual indication of anchorage quality, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 8 shows the user interface of FIG. 2 with the anchoring locationslist side menu selected, in accordance with some embodiments discussedherein;

FIG. 9 shows the user interface of FIG. 2 with the one of the anchoringlocations selected to reveal the anchoring location details menu, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 10 shows the user interface of FIG. 2 indicating a user selecting aspot on the map for a new anchoring location, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 11 shows the user interface of FIG. 10 with automatic route dataindicated and the anchoring location details side menu activated afterselection of the new anchoring location, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 12 shows the anchoring location details side menu of FIG. 11 withan anchoring time adjustor and corresponding environmental data, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 13 shows the user interface of FIG. 2 automatically indicating anew anchoring location based on detected motion of the marine vessel, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 14 shows the user interface of FIG. 13 with a manual anchoringlocation adjustor, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 15 shows the user interface of FIG. 13 indicating movement of themarine vessel, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 16 shows the user interface of FIG. 13 requesting confirmation ofthe detected anchoring location, in accordance with some embodimentsdiscussed herein;

FIG. 17 shows the user interface of FIG. 16 indicating that the anchorof the marine vessel has been deployed at the anchoring location, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 18 shows the user interface of FIG. 11 indicating that the marinevessel is approaching the selected anchoring location, in accordancewith some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 19 shows the user interface of FIG. 18 with an anchor setting sidemenu activated, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 20 shows the user interface of FIG. 19 with the drift data ofnearby anchored marine vessels indicated, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing example alarm zone settings for the marinevessel, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 22 shows the user interface of FIG. 17 indicating that the marinevessel is anchored and prompting the user to set an alarm zone, inaccordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 23 shows the user interface of FIG. 22 indicating the user resizingthe alarm zone, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 24 shows the user interface of FIG. 22 indicating that the marinevessel has breached the alarm zone and prompting the user to disable theset alarm zone, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 25 shows example user interface aspects for the anchoring and alarmzone of a marine vessel, in accordance with some embodiments discussedherein;

FIG. 26 shows a block diagram illustrating an example systemarchitecture, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 27 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for determining oneor more anchoring locations and a corresponding anchorage quality foreach, in accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIG. 28 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for setting ananchoring location, in accordance with some embodiments discussedherein;

FIG. 29 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for detecting ananchoring location, in accordance with some embodiments discussedherein; and

FIG. 30 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for monitoring amarine vessel at a set anchoring location, in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.Indeed, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different formsand should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods foranchoring assistance on a marine vessel (e.g., watercraft, boat, ship).Such example embodiments enable a user to receive suggestions for where,when, and how to anchor using onboard marine systems. This providesadvantages in convenience and safety. For example, a user may not haveto be an experienced boater in order to safely anchor a marine vessel inan appropriate location for a desired activity (e.g., fishing, goingashore, camping overnight).

Anchoring the vessel is one of the things that people new to boatingstruggle with the most. Wind, land and seabed topography, water depth,tides, currents, vessel type, and anchor type may all come intoconsideration when choosing a place to anchor. People are nervous whilesleeping onboard or away from their marine vessel that the marine vesselmay drift off position. The disclosed systems and methods provide forautomation within anchoring functionalities to improve users'experiences and assure safety.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example marine vessel 10 on a body of water 11 inconnection with various system embodiments described herein. An examplesystem 100 may include a display 110 (e.g., multi-function display (MFD)at the helm of the marine vessel 10), a marine system 120 (e.g., a sonarsystem), a navigation system 130 for determining the current location ofthe marine vessel 10, an anchoring system 140, and/or one or more marinedevices (e.g., radar system 150, propulsion system used for propulsionand/or steering).

The marine vessel 10 may include a gasoline/diesel/electric inboardmotor as part of the propulsion system. The marine vessel 10 may use oneor more outboard motors, inboard motors, thrusters, jets, pods, trollingmotors, or any other type of marine motor or engine for propulsion. Themotors may be operated manually or by autopilot units as part of or incommunication with the navigation system 130. An autopilot unit maycontrol the direction and speed of the motor.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include a controller (e.g.,multi-functional display (MFD), processor, computer, marine electronicshub) onboard or otherwise associated with the marine vessel 10, as shownin the schematic diagram of FIG. 26. The controller may be configured tocontrol operations of one or more marine devices (e.g., sonar system120, propulsion system, radar system 150, marine display 110, anchoringsystem 140, navigation system 130). The controller may be incommunication with one or more sensor modules (e.g., via wired and/orwireless connections). The sensor module may transmit signals to thecontroller indicating a detected condition, event, and/or user input.

In some embodiments, the controller may be an assembly or system ofmultiple processors and/or circuitry distributed across various devices.As such, actions taken by the controller (e.g., determining,transmitting, receiving, generating, comparing) may each occur ondifferent devices or using multiple components.

Many variations of the system 100 are possible. For example, the system100 may include or be in communication with one or more marine devices.Non-limiting examples of the one or more marine devices include apropulsion system, engine, steering system, gas-powered or electrictrolling motor, outboard motor, inboard motor, sonar system, radarsystem, fish finder, navigation system, GPS, autopilot, plotter, anchorsystem, lighting, pumps, electrical power system, radio, audio system,digital switching, displays, HVAC, fuel system, etc.

Example Anchoring Location Determination Systems and Display

In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein mayprovide a user with information regarding where to anchor (e.g.,latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates for points and/or regions). Forexample, the disclosed systems and methods may enable a user to find,create, and/or navigate to anchoring locations based on chart data(e.g., chart land and bottom topography from nautical electronic chartsor other map/chart data, electronic charts or other sources for tidesand currents data), marine data (e.g., sonar data for depth and seabedcomposition), real-time data (e.g., weather forecast, sensors, GPSposition, radar, AIS vessel positions), crowd-sourced data (e.g.,ratings, reviews, recommendations), and/or user inputs (e.g., desiredanchoring time/activity, information particular to marine vessel 10). Insome embodiments, the system 100 may utilize a number of factors tosuggest one or more anchoring locations to a user. In such embodiments,the one or more anchoring locations may include visual indications of ananchorage quality index for each anchoring location. In this way, theuser may choose from a number of appropriate and safe anchoringlocations based on dynamic data thereby minimizing any requiredanchoring knowledge or manually applied expertise.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may be provided as an app,algorithm, or other software for a multi-function display (MFD). Asshown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include a display 110 and anavigation system 130. In such embodiments, user inputs may be made viathe display 110 (e.g., MFD at helm of marine vessel 10 in FIG. 1,display on user's mobile media device).

Anchoring tasks or activities may require the aggregation of severaldata points and sources of information to successfully identifyappropriate anchoring locations that are safe or ideal for anchoring themarine vessel 10 securely. In some embodiments, the system 100 mayinclude programming that causes the processor to iterate throughmultiple procedures and/or calculations in determining one or moreanchoring locations for the marine vessel 10 within the surrounding area(e.g., the set of locations within a region limited by minimum andmaximum latitudes and longitudes in four corners set by the zoom level).As a non-limiting example, in order to streamline processing speeds, thesystem 100 may first filter out any non-suitable locations from thesurrounding area based on static limits and stored data (e.g., by firstignoring land and removing all regions from the remaining surroundingarea with depths greater than a maximum allowable anchoring depth). Thesystem 100 may then continue refining the remaining set of locationsbased on dynamic, real-time, and/or external data. Other methods andprocedures are possible. If the user changes a data input (e.g.,anchoring time), the system 100 may determine the updated anchoringlocations based on the changed data input and update the display 110accordingly. In some embodiments, the system 100 may store variouspossible sets of anchoring locations based on multiple discrete valuesfor certain commonly edited data inputs (e.g., anchoring time) inmemory, such that the corresponding stored set of anchoring locationsmay be recalled and rendered in response to the changed data inputinstead of the processor having to restart the determining procedure. Inthis way, the user may rapidly change (e.g., “scrub through”) editabledata inputs and instantly view the resulting scenarios on the display110 without experiencing a lag in rendering. This may advantageouslyenhance the user's understanding of the anchoring process by providing adynamic interface from which the user receives seemingly continualfeedback. Similar effects may be achieved by using fuzzy data setsand/or responsive functions.

The system 100 may use various data inputs (e.g., static and dynamic) todetermine and display anchoring locations and associated data. The datainputs may be input manually by the user and/or automatically detectedor received from an external source (e.g., connected sensors, internetserver). For example, the data inputs may include user interfaceselections (e.g., activation of an anchoring view/app, zoom level for amap/chart on the display 110) relevant to the system 100 for determiningwhat to cause the display 110 to show and/or the scope of thecalculations to process.

The data inputs may include information about the marine vessel 10(e.g., vessel length, vessel draft, beam, number of anchors, anchorline/chain/rope/rode length, amount of swing allowed). The informationabout the marine vessel 10 may be stored in the system 100 as part of aboat profile. The data inputs may include the current location of themarine vessel 10. In some embodiments, the navigation system 130 of themarine vessel 10 may include a GPS or other system for determining thelocation (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the marine vessel 10 at anypoint in time. The user may provide and/or the system 100 may detectanchor data (e.g., weight, type) such that the system 100 may suggestanchoring locations based on the seabed suitability of the availableanchors, for example. Further data inputs may include wind, tide, seabedcomposition, seabed topography, bow height, scope (ratio), and/ordrifting. The data inputs may be static in relation to a particularmarine vessel (e.g., bow height) or dynamic in relation to the time andlocation (e.g., wind/weather data) or in relation to user selections(e.g., selected navigation, scope ratio, anchoring time). Some datainputs may have default values, formulae, or sources that may beeditable by the user (e.g., anchor type, sonar data, weather informationsource), whereas others may be secured or more difficult to edit forsafety or other reasons (e.g., maximum allowable anchoring depth). Thedata inputs may be appropriately grouped or categorized such that thesystem 100 may generate a dynamic heat map or other informationalvisualization (e.g., list, chart) of anchoring locations (e.g., Group A:wind, tide, seabed composition; Group B: seabed topography, scope(ratio); Group C: anchor type, number of anchors, line length, bowheight). These data inputs may be user-provided values, previouslystored as a boat profile, and/or automatically detected (e.g., viasensors, network data stream).

To utilize the system 100 for displaying anchoring data, the user mayaccess an anchoring view from a list of apps and/or activity shortcuts201 on the MFD. FIG. 2 is an example user interface 200 that may beshown on the display 110 of the system 100. FIG. 2 shows an example userinterface 200 with dynamically generated anchoring data on a mapincluding suggested anchoring locations (e.g., saved anchoring location225, crowd-sourced anchoring location 227) with visual indications ofanchorage quality (e.g., patterns A, B, C from legend indicatingdifferent types of regions 250, 252, 254).

As seen in FIG. 2, the dynamically generated anchoring data may includean indication of the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10 placedin the context of a map of the surrounding area (e.g., based on a zoomlevel data input). The map may be generated based on chart and/or otherdata. In such embodiments, the user may zoom in and out on the map(e.g., edit the zoom level data input) to better visualize the currentlocation 210 of the marine vessel 10 in context to its surroundings. Insome embodiments, the zoom level of the system 100 may be automaticallyset or reset to a default (e.g., to 16 (50 m)) when the anchoring viewis selected or activated. In some embodiments, the zoom level may beused to dictate the scope of the area surrounding the current location210 of the marine vessel 10 on the map in the anchoring view.Additionally or alternatively, the zoom level may be used by the system100 as a data input (e.g., maximum and minimum latitudinal andlongitudinal limits) for determining one or more anchoring locations,for example. The system 100 may automatically update the zoom levelbased on changes to the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10(e.g., approaching shallows, approaching the end of a programmed route)and/or detected threats (e.g., approaching vessels).

The visual indications of anchorage quality of the anchoring locationsgenerated by the system 100 may take the form of a heat map as shown inFIG. 2. A heat map may be any data visualization of one or more regions(e.g., with a shape and/or relative positioning) including some visualindication of type or characteristic (e.g., “heat”) of each region. Forexample, the heat map within the user interface 200 may include (A) anindication of the best anchoring regions 250 (e.g., takingwind-shielding, tidal, and/or weather effects into account), (B) anindication of anchorable regions 252 (e.g., suitable for short stays,such as anchoring times under 5 hours), and (C) an indication of swingbuffer 254 (e.g., peripheral range of rotation of the marine vessel froma set anchoring location). Although shown as patterns in FIG. 2, theindications may be shown in various colors (e.g., as seen in FIGS. 4-6),textures, densities, intensities, shading, etc., or combinationsthereof.

The system 100 may generate the anchorage quality for each determinedanchoring location based on a variety of factors. For example, theanchorage quality may be generated based on the water depth, seabedcomposition, tidal forecast, and/or weather data in relation to thecharacteristics of the marine vessel 10 (e.g., boat profile, anchortype) for the user's current selections (e.g., desired anchoring time).In some embodiments, the anchorage quality may be further affected bysaved user ratings of the anchoring location and/or environmentalthreats (e.g., surface and underwater hazards) detected and saved to thelocation. Further, in some embodiments, the anchorage quality generatedby the system 100 may be based on previously tracked events that haveoccurred at the anchoring location. For example, the system 100 may beconnected (e.g., in a read/write capacity) to a networked database whereanchoring location data beyond ratings from the user and other vesselsmay be aggregated and further processed/analyzed to help generate ananchorage quality index. In particular, the system 100 may track/monitorthe actual drift of the marine vessel 10 while anchored at the setanchoring location in comparison with the predicted drift calculated forthat anchoring location prior to anchoring and then upload the resultsto the database. In this way, the system 100 may be configured tocontinually improve and/or enhance the reliability and accuracy of thesuggestions and recommendations based on the generated anchoragequality. In some embodiments, the system 100 may include a setting forthe user to choose whether the system 100 generates the anchoragequality based on an overall absolute scale taking into account theanchoring locations within the database or a relative scale based ononly the available anchoring locations determined within the surroundingarea. The system 100 may include an option to customize a minimumanchorage quality threshold for filtering determined anchoring locationsbased on the database.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user interface 200 may include an anchored statebadge or indicator 211 on the anchoring view icon within the list ofapps and/or activity shortcuts 201 informing the user whether a setanchoring location has been confirmed for the marine vessel 10 (e.g.,based on signals to/from the connected anchoring system 140 or theuser's response to detected anchor deploying movements of the marinevessel 10). Likewise, the user interface 200 may include an alarm zoneor geofence indicator that quickly informs the user whether an alarmzone for monitoring potential threats and/or drift of the marine vessel10, once anchored, has been set.

In some embodiments, the user interface 200 may include an environmentaldata (e.g., weather, wind) overlay. FIG. 3 shows the user interface 200of FIG. 2 with an environmental data overlay. Visual indications of thewind (e.g., particles 218) may be shown as a map overlay. In addition tothe wind particles 218 shown in FIG. 3, the environmental data may bedisplayed in various other ways (e.g., as a color scale, cloud overlay,map of currents). The user interface 200 may include an option to changethe weather data provider, such as within a settings menu. The userinterface 200 may display a badge (e.g., in a settings or side menu)indicating if any data is cached or recently updated.

The user may access additional controls, such as overlays, layers, timesliders, etc. within one or more settings menus. In this way, the usermay tweak and customize the settings to receive different, additional,or less information for an upcoming anchoring task from the anchoringview. In some embodiments, the user may select which layers or overlaysto show on a map view for the selection of anchoring locations.

In some embodiments, the land portions of the anchoring map view may berendered as satellite tiles on the display 110. FIG. 4 shows anotherexample user interface 300 including a heat map of determined anchoringlocations or zones in a color scale overlaid on a topographicalsatellite map. The anchoring map view may include topographicalinformation about the land (e.g., 3D model of the landscape) to providethe user with a better understanding of the environment and possiblewind-shielding effects. In some embodiments, where the heat map is shownas a color scale based on some or all of the data inputs, the colorscale may range across a gradient indicating ideal anchoring regions atone end and non-ideal anchoring regions at the other end.

As shown in the user interface 300 of FIG. 4, the fuchsia anchor zoneregions 350 indicate potential anchoring locations where it is safe todeploy the anchor of the marine vessel 10. The light pink swing bufferregions 354 indicate regions where anchors should not be deployed, butwhere it is safe for the marine vessel 10 to swing out over once securedin a set anchoring location within one of the fuchsia anchor zoneregions 350. The user interface 300 may additionally show hazards orpotential threats to avoid anchoring near (e.g., submerged hazards 360,surface hazards 362). In some embodiments, the user interface 300 mayshow the current location 310 of the marine vessel 10 as well as thecorresponding suggested anchor type and anchor line length data 375 foranchoring at the current location 310. The user interface 300 mayfurther show anchoring data related to the water depth at the currentlocation 310 (e.g., 10 m depth (11 m effective depth)), the selectedanchoring time and corresponding tide and depth range data (e.g., 4hours+4 m tide range, 9 m-15 m depth of water), and/or details about themarine vessel 10 such as anchor weight (e.g., 20 kg), anchor line type(e.g., 10 mm diameter 1.9 kg/m chain), vessel length (e.g., 12 m),and/or selected scope/ratio (e.g., 4:1 scope).

In some embodiments, the user may change the desired anchoring timeand/or refresh/update the data inputs to alter the heat map of the userinterface 300. As shown in FIG. 5, the system 100 may provide a dynamicanchoring overlay by generating an updated user interface 300′ with aheat map incorporating wind data based on the user's desired anchoringtime and/or updated environmental data (e.g., wind, tidal flows, depth).By enabling a dynamic view of the anchoring data, the system 100 mayprovide the user with a better understanding of how the environmentalconditions (e.g., wind, tide) will change over the next few hours ordays at the selected anchoring location and/or surrounding area.

As seen when comparing FIGS. 4 and 5, user interface 300′ of FIG. 5 hasremoved all of the fuchsia anchoring zones 350 from the windward side ofthe peninsula. As shown in FIG. 5, the user interface 300′ additionallyshows suggested crowd-sourced anchoring locations 327.

The heat maps of the color-scaled user interface 300 may visuallyindicate to the user how the tide may affect specific anchoringlocations. For example, some areas (e.g., tidal exclaves) are deep butpartially/totally isolated from the main body of water 11 at lower tidesdepending on the vessel draft and tides. In some embodiments, the system100 may show the anchoring map view assuming all routing is at thelowest possible astronomical tide. FIG. 6 shows a portion 300″ of theuser interface 300 of FIG. 4 with the heat map focused on a light purpletidal exclave region 352. The differentiated visual indications of thelight purple color of the tidal exclave region 352 and the whiteseparation band before the fuchsia anchor zone region 350 notify theuser that while it is safe to deploy the anchor of the marine vessel 10in the tidal exclave region 352, the tide will cut-off access to theopen water for at least part of the day.

There are many other ways that the system 100 may display visualindications of an anchorage quality for specific anchoring locations(e.g., circular anchoring locations of varying size/color fordepth/quality). FIG. 7 shows another example user interface 200including circular representations of suggested anchoring locations witha color scale for the visual indication of anchorage quality. As seen inFIG. 7, a first suggested anchoring location 229 a has a larger radius(e.g., indicating larger swing radius due to depth and scope) and a morereddish color than a second suggested anchoring location 229 b, which isgreener (e.g., indicating a higher anchorage quality) with a smallerradius. By using dynamic colors and radii, the system 100 may quicklycommunicate the ranking (e.g., relative or absolute) and swing radius(e.g., and thus, indirectly the water depth) of particular identifiedanchoring locations. In this way, the user efficiently receives therequired information needed to undertake finding and navigating to ananchoring location.

Additionally shown in FIG. 7, the user interface 200 includesindications of nearby anchored vessels 262 in order to notify the userof potential surface hazards. The nearby anchored vessel indications 262may have variable size in accordance with the swing radius calculatedbased on the water depth, anchor line length, etc. The nearby anchoredvessel data may be communicated to the system 100 as real-time,crowd-sourced data based on standard information shared with a connectednetwork (e.g., AIS). Likewise, the system 100 may communicate the sameinformation (e.g., including anchoring location and calculated swingradius) for the marine vessel 10 with the connected network and/or othervessels. In this way, anchoring data may be shared electronicallybetween marine vessels. Sharing anchoring data in this way may allow thesystem 100 and/or user to see other anchored vessels in relation to thecurrent location 210 of the marine vessel 10, so the system 100 and/oruser can choose to anchor the marine vessel 10 in a safe anchoringlocation in relation to the other nearby vessels.

In some embodiments, the user interface 200 may include visualindications of environmental data (e.g., wind, current) as it relates toprobable position 265 of the anchored marine vessel relative to the setanchoring location. For example, if the environmental data indicateswind out of the northeast at 11 m/s, the system 100 may use this windand/or other environmental data to generate visual indications ofprobable vessel position 265 (e.g., southwest) along the possible swingradius of the anchored vessel.

The system 100 may allow the user to activate a list of anchoringlocations (e.g., saved anchoring location 225, crowd-sourced anchoringlocation 227). FIG. 8 shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 with theanchoring locations list 280 activated as a side menu. In someembodiments, the anchoring locations list 280 may be a collection ofsaved personal and crowd-sourced anchoring locations, which may beprioritized by proximity or other relevant factors based on the contextand/or user selection. The anchoring locations list 280 may besearchable, sortable, and/or filterable.

Crowd-sourced or social anchoring locations 227 may be publiclyavailable places that contain, in addition to the normal anchoringlocation details, other people's images, ratings 228, reviews, and/orcomments. The crowd-sourced anchoring locations 227 may be stored anduploaded as data on a shared internet site or database, accessible tothe public or to members only, for example.

Selecting an anchoring location (e.g., saved anchoring location 225,crowd-sourced anchoring location 227) from either the anchoring map viewor the anchoring locations list 280 may activate an anchoring locationdetails side menu 282 on the user interface 200. FIG. 9 shows the userinterface of FIG. 2 with one (e.g., crowd-sourced anchoring location 227a) of the anchoring locations selected to reveal the anchoring locationdetails menu 282.

The anchoring location details menu 282 may provide the user with quickinformation (e.g., title 242, water depth, wind, seabed composition andrecommended anchor type therefor, latitude/longitude, weather, images,rating) about a selected anchoring location (e.g., saved anchoringlocation 225, crowd-sourced anchoring location 227) within a top portion284 as well as further details about the selected anchoring location byscrolling down. The user may edit or customize some or all of the savedinformation in the anchoring location details menu 282.

The anchoring location details menu 282 may include environmental data244 (e.g., weather, tide, water depth) about the selected anchoringlocation for an adjustable anchoring time 246 (e.g., the next 4 hours).

In some embodiments, the anchoring location details menu 282 may includea quick action menu 286 in a lower portion to allow the user to selectvarious actions to take regarding the selected anchoring location. Forexample, the quick action menu 286 may allow the user to navigate to theselected anchoring location, activate the selected location as the setanchoring location, add a marker on the map, add/remove the selectedlocation as a waypoint within a planned trip, etc. In some embodiments,the “set anchor” quick action is prioritized within the menu.

FIG. 10 shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 indicating the userselecting a spot on the map for creating a new anchoring location. Ifthe user does not wish to immediately navigate to the selected location,the system 100 may provide the user the option to create a new anchoringlocation through a quick process for use in the future. For example, asshown in FIG. 10, the user may create a new anchoring location by firstselecting a spot on the map.

As shown in FIG. 11, selecting the spot on the map automaticallyactivates the anchoring location details menu 282 with the quickinformation fields populated and ready for editing. In some embodiments,the system 100 may also automatically generate a navigational route 240to the selected location and indicate the estimated travel time on themap. The anchoring location details menu 282 may include environmentaland other data 244 based on the estimated travel time to the selectedlocation. Thus, the user is conveniently provided with the informationof what to expect from the selected location upon arrival.

FIG. 12 shows the anchoring location details menu 282 of FIG. 11 with ananchoring time adjustor 246 and corresponding environmental data 244. Inthis way, the system 100 may allow the user to adjust a desiredanchoring time and accordingly update the anchoring locations map viewand anchoring location details menu 282 to reflect the anchorage qualityand other data regarding the anchoring locations based on theenvironmental and real-time data impacts for the desired anchoring time.

Thus, the disclosed systems and methods enable a user to find, create,and navigate to safe anchoring locations appropriate for effectivelysecuring the marine vessel 10 throughout the desired anchoring time.

Example Anchor Setting Systems

Example systems for setting the anchor of a marine vessel are describedherein. In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed hereinmay use the movement and/or current location of the marine vessel 10 asa data input to help automatically prompt the user with relevantanchoring information related to a predicted upcoming anchoring task(e.g., displaying anchoring data as the marine vessel 10 approaches aselected anchoring location or seems to be deploying the anchor). Asdiscussed further below, in some embodiments, the systems and methodsdisclosed herein may enable a connected anchoring system toautomatically deploy the anchor for the user (e.g., when the selectedanchoring location is reached) or assist the user through the anchoringtask steps in real-time (e.g., if an anchor sensor alerts the systemthat it is being deployed). In this way, the anchor of the marine vessel10 may be deployed and set correctly to ensure effective anchor holdingat the set anchoring location. The systems and methods may furtherprompt the user when the anchoring task is finished and/or the marinevessel 10 is detected as leaving the set anchoring location.

Once the marine vessel 10 has maneuvered the current location 210 towithin an appropriate anchoring zone (e.g., region 250 as shown anddescribed in relation to FIG. 2), a set anchoring location (e.g., 233 inFIG. 17) may be marked either manually or automatically. The setanchoring position may include both the dropped anchor location and theanchor line length that was fed out such that the swing radius may becalculated and stored by the system 100 for constant monitoring. Thedropped anchor location and anchor line length may be manually input bythe user, automatically suggested by the system 100 and thenedited/confirmed by the user, and/or automatically detected by thesystem 100 based on sensed data inputs.

With the anchoring view selected from the list of activity shortcuts 201on the display 110 and the zoom level data input past a certainthreshold, the system 100 may cause the user interface 200 toautomatically display a dynamic swing radius indicator 230 around thecurrent location 210 of the marine vessel 10. FIG. 13 shows the userinterface 200 of FIG. 2 with the dynamic swing radius indicator 230displayed around the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10. Thesize of the dynamic swing radius indicator 230 around the currentlocation 210 of the marine vessel 10 as shown on the display 110 may bedependent on the water depth and the scope ratio of the marine vessel10. Thus, as the system 100 receives updated data (e.g., currentlocation, depth, sonar data), the display of the dynamic swing radiusindicator 230 may change accordingly.

In some embodiments, the dynamic swing radius indicator 230 may includean indication of the probable position 265 of the anchored marine vessel10 based on wind and current data, for example (as described in moredetail in relation to FIG. 7). The probable position 265 may update onthe display 110 as the system 100 receives updated data inputs.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 13, in some embodiments, the system 100may also show nearby anchored vessels 262 with an indication of theirswing radius and probable positions (e.g., due to environmental data),as described in more detail in relation to FIG. 7.

When the appearance of the dynamic swing radius indicator 230 istriggered, the system 100 may also display a selectable scope ratioindicator 234 showing the current scope ratio (e.g., “Scope 5:1”) of themarine vessel 10 (e.g., based on the water depth at the current location210 and the anchor line length). If the user selects the scope ratioindicator 234 and/or if the system 100 is triggered by behavior of themarine vessel 10 within the context of the surrounding area, moredetails about setting the anchor (e.g., the anchor line length (L), theswing radius (R)) may be shown on the display 110 and a manual scopeadjustor 231 may be activated. For example, in some embodiments, thesystem 100 may include sensors within the anchoring system 140 thatdetect if the anchor is being deployed. In response to detecting adeployed anchor, the system 100 may show more details about setting theanchor on the display 110, such as with the manual scope adjustor 231and/or dynamic swing radius indicator 230.

FIG. 14 shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 13 with the manual scopeadjustor 231 activated on the dynamic swing radius indicator 230including the current anchor line length (L) and calculated swing radius(R) based on the water depth at the current location 210. In this way,the user may conveniently view the suggested anchor line length todeploy along with the corresponding calculated swing radius for thewater depth at the current location 210. In some embodiments, the usermay use the manual scope adjustor 231 to edit the resulting swing radiusof the marine vessel 10 by dragging the points displayed at the sides ofthe dynamic swing radius indicator 230 in or out to avoid nearby surfacehazards, for example. The system 100 may limit the amount that the useris able to adjust the swing radius based on a minimum and maximum scoperatio appropriate for safety. The minimum and maximum scope ratios maybe dynamic based on the environmental data (e.g., seabed composition,water depth, wind, currents) of the anchoring location and/or the boatprofile (e.g., anchor type, weight) for the marine vessel 10. Inresponse to the user editing the swing radius size, the system 100 maydisplay the updated anchor line length to deploy.

In some embodiments without a connected anchoring system 140, the system100 may track the movement of the marine vessel 10 to detect when theuser is preparing to deploy or currently deploying the anchor. Forexample, the system 100 may trigger the display of the dynamic swingradius indicator 230 based on the current location 210 of the marinevessel 10 being stopped in an appropriate anchoring zone (e.g., notexcessively deep or including a shallow threat detection within thedesired anchoring time) for an amount of time beyond a certain timethreshold representing the average time required to deploy an anchor(e.g., 20 seconds).

As another example, the system 100 may trigger activation of theanchoring menu and/or dynamic swing radius indicator 230 based on thepropulsion system of the marine vessel 10 stopping quickly within anappropriate anchoring zone (e.g., region 250 as shown and described withrespect to FIG. 2). In some embodiments, if the system 100 is poweredoff due to the stopping location being in a marina or similar location,the anchoring menu prompt may be stored and immediately activated oncethe system 100 is powered on again. In some embodiments, the system 100may save a designated location as a “home marina” and perform apredetermined process in response to detecting the marine vessel 10stopping within the designated “home marina” location.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may monitor the movement of themarine vessel 10 while the propulsion system is stopped and cause thedisplay 110 to render the detected movement accordingly. FIG. 15 showsthe user interface 200 of FIG. 13 including a stopped vessel motionindicator 237 informing the user about the movement of the marine vessel10 (e.g., after anchor is dropped). The stopped vessel motion indicator237 may include an anchor drive line extending from the current location210 of the marine vessel 10 and aligned with the calculated probableposition 265 indication of the dynamic swing radius indicator 230 aswell as a compass guide with directional degrees revealed. This displayof the alignment and movement data of the stopped vessel motionindicator 237 may inform the user regarding appropriately directing thesteering of the propulsion system while reversing the marine vessel 10to drive the anchor into the seabed 13.

Monitoring and displaying the movement (e.g., current location 210 andorientation) of the marine vessel 10 while the anchor is being deployedor driven-in and/or before finishing anchoring (e.g., confirming the setanchoring location) may provide the user with convenient visualcheckpoints throughout the anchoring tasks.

Even without the user having to choose a preselected anchoring location,the system 100 may monitor the movement of the marine vessel 10 in orderto suggest an estimated anchor location based on the detected movementindicative of anchoring. For example, if the marine vessel 10 stops fora predetermined amount of time (e.g., the average time needed to set theanchor depending on the marine vessel 10) and then goes in reverse,facing the wind direction, the system 100 may automatically generate anddisplay the estimated anchor location 232 for the user, as shown in FIG.16.

In order to finish anchoring task, the system 100 may prompt the user toconfirm the estimated anchor location 232 as the set anchoring location.FIG. 16 additionally shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 13 with aconfirm set anchoring location prompt 235 requesting confirmation of theestimated anchor location 232 as the set anchoring location.

After the user confirms the set anchoring location 233 or when thesystem 100 automatically confirms the estimated anchoring location 232as the set anchoring location 233 (e.g., after detecting a deployedanchor in the anchoring system 140), the system 100 may display a setanchoring location notification 236 for the user. FIG. 17 shows the userinterface 200 of FIG. 16 indicating that the anchor of the marine vessel10 has been deployed and set at the set anchoring location 233. In someembodiments, the system 100 may automatically save the set anchoringlocation 233 in the anchoring locations list 280 or within anotherdatabase for the future.

In some embodiments, a set anchoring location notification (e.g.,“Anchor Set”—informing the user about details of the set anchoringlocation and confirming connection to MFD) is also sent to the user'smobile media device (e.g., via a companion software application (“app”)loaded thereon). The companion app may allow the user to edit and viewthe anchor activity with similar functionality to the MFD.

In some embodiments, the user may manually edit the estimated anchorlocation 232 and/or set anchoring location 233 by selecting the anchorlocation icon or the automatic notification prompt (e.g., 235, 236)generated by the system 100 (e.g., at the top of the display 110). Theuser may type the desired coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude)into the interface. As the user edits the coordinates, the correspondingicon on the display 110 may move to visually represent the inputtedcoordinates. If the water depth, etc. at the corrected location isdifferent than that of the estimated anchor location 232 or setanchoring location 233, the dynamic swing radius indicator 230 may beautomatically resized to match the new conditions appropriately. In someembodiments, the user may also be able to drag and drop the estimatedanchor location 232 or set anchoring location 233 to the correctedanchor location before or after confirming the set anchor location 233.

Likewise, the user may also edit various other settings for the setanchoring location 233. These settings may include whether or not toautomatically save the set anchoring location 233 in the user's savedanchoring locations list 280, the scope ratio, the buffer for the alarmzone, the source for the depth information (e.g., stored chart data,marine data, real-time sonar data), how the system 100 notifies theuser, the anchor type (e.g., traditional, power pole), and/or the powerpole hull location.

In some embodiments, if the user maneuvers the marine vessel 10 awayfrom the estimated or selected anchoring location without finishing theanchor setting process or away from the set anchoring location 233, thesystem 100 may prompt the user asking if anchoring is still desired.

Referring back to FIG. 11, after the system 100 detects a user input ofa selected anchoring location (e.g., selected crowd-sourced anchoringlocation 227 a, selected spot on map, a previously saved anchoringlocation 225 from the anchoring locations list 280), the system 100causes the display 110 to show the anchoring location details menu 282.From the anchoring location details menu 282, the user may select the“navigate” option from the quick action menu to cause the system 100 toautomatically maneuver and/or route the marine vessel 10 to the selectedanchoring location (e.g., using the autopilot, the navigation system130, and/or the propulsion system).

In some embodiments, while en route to the selected anchoring location,the system 100 may track the current location of the marine vessel 10and automatically update the display 110 accordingly. For example, thesystem 100 may compare the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10to the selected anchoring location to calculate a remaining distance.Moreover, the system 100 may continue to receive data inputs and updatethe generated anchorage quality for each determined anchoring location.If the anchorage quality falls below a certain threshold, the system 100may automatically notify the user that conditions have changed and thatthe selected anchoring location is no longer ideal. The system 100 mayfurther recommend alternatives with an updated list of suggestedanchoring locations and/or heat map. Likewise, if the user hasprogrammed a selected anchoring location for future planned navigation,the system 100 may alert the user before the navigation begins.

FIG. 18 shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 11 indicating that themarine vessel 10 is approaching the selected anchoring location 229.While en route to the selected anchoring location 229 and when theremaining distance left in the route is below a certain threshold, forexample, the system 100 may automatically cause the display 110 to showthe dynamic swing radius indicator 230, nearby anchored vesselinformation 262, and/or a preview of the selected anchoring location 229with an indication of the probable position 265 of the anchored marinevessel. In some embodiments, when the system 100 detects that the marinevessel 10 is approaching the selected anchoring location 229, thedisplay 110 may automatically show a suggested route of best approach248, as seen in FIG. 18. The system 100 may generate the suggested routeof best approach 248 based on the calculated probable position 265 ofthe marine vessel 10 for the selected anchoring location such that themarine vessel 10 may be oriented to easily drop the anchor over theselected anchoring location and then drive the anchor into the seabed 13by reversing the marine vessel 10 along the anchor drive line.

FIG. 19 shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 18 with an anchor settingmenu 290 activated along the side of the display 110. In someembodiments, when the system 100 detects that the marine vessel 10 isapproaching the selected anchoring location 229, the display 110 mayautomatically show the anchor setting menu 290. Additionally oralternatively, the anchor setting menu 290 may be triggered by theuser's selection of the scope ratio indicator 234, as shown in FIG. 19in toggled form 234′.

The anchor setting menu 290 may include information about the waterdepth (D), anchor line or rode length (L), scope ratio (L:D), and/orswing radius (R) for the current location 210 based on the boat profile,marine data (e.g., sonar data), environmental data, and/or user inputs.In this way, the system 100 may automatically display the most importantinformation for the anchoring task (e.g., wind data, depth, anchor linelength) at the exact time the user may use the information (e.g., rightbefore deploying the anchor).

The anchor setting menu 290 may include a dynamic anchoring diagram 291depicting a real-time representation of the water depth (D), anchor lineor rode length (L), scope ratio (L:D), and/or swing radius (R) of themarine vessel 10 at the current location 210. The dynamic anchoringdiagram 291 may quickly illustrate to the user what is happeningunderwater related to the anchoring task. In this way, the system 100makes it easier for the user to understand the anchoring task using aside view of the marine vessel 10 (e.g., including the length of themarine vessel 10), anchor, and anchor line while depicting thecorrelated swing radius.

The system 100 may also display AIS targets and any correlated probableposition 265 data received, for example. FIG. 20 shows the userinterface 200 of FIG. 19 with nearby anchored vessels 262 and theirprobable positions 265 indicated.

The dynamic anchoring diagram 291 may illustrate the suggested scoperatio for anchoring at the current location 210 or selected anchoringlocation based on the desired anchoring time. The dynamic anchoringdiagram 291 may correspond with the scope ratio indicator 234 and/ormanual scope adjustor 231 of the dynamic swing radius indicator 230.Thus, as the user edits the scope ratio, the resulting anchor linelength (L) and swing radius (R) may be reflected on the dynamicanchoring diagram 291.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include a marine system 120. Insome embodiments, the marine system 120 may be a sonar system fordetecting the underwater environment in multiple dimensions. The sonarsystem may be built-in, attached to, and/or remote from the marinevessel 10. Visualizations of three-dimensional data from the sonarsystem may be provided to the user via the display 110 (e.g., marinedisplay at helm of marine vessel 10 in FIG. 1, display on user's mobilemedia device).

The water depths shown in the anchoring view may be based on savedcharted depths. In some embodiments, the water depths may be based onreal-time marine data (e.g., sonar data) from the marine system 120(e.g., sonar system). For example, the system 100 could automaticallyactivate the sonar system to provide real-time sonar data if proximityto a selected anchoring location or deploying the anchor of the marinevessel 10 is detected. The real-time sonar data may include the actualdetected water depths and/or seabed compositions, for example. In someembodiments, the system 100 may automatically activate the sonar systemto provide accurate real-time sonar data once the marine vessel 10 iswithin a certain distance from the selected anchoring location 229.

In some embodiments, the dynamic anchoring diagram 291 may include alive 2D or 3D view of the seabed topography and/or composition based onthe real-time sonar data. In this way, the user may be able to choose ananchoring location based on actual real-time data about the seabed,rather than relying on stored chart data alone. By displaying real-timemarine data about the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10 usingthe marine system 120, the system 100 may enhance how the anchoringlocation is selected through increasing the likelihood of safe andsecure anchoring. For example, the marine data may be sonar data thatreflects a new underwater hazard that has not yet been added to thestored chart data. The detection of the new underwater hazard mayprevent the system 100 and/or the user from attempting to anchor at anow unsafe selected anchoring location, which could prevent damage toand/or loss of the anchor, the anchor line, the anchoring system 140,and/or marine vessel 10, for example. The detection of the newunderwater hazard may cause the system 100 to update the previouslygenerated anchorage quality for the selected anchoring location andnotify/warn the user accordingly. In some embodiments, the system 100may upload detection of the new underwater hazard to a networked/shareddatabase of anchoring locations for use by other vessels.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may cause the display 110 (e.g.,MFD, mobile media device) to show an augmented reality view of theanchoring task. In this way, the user may virtually view the position ofthe anchor in relation to the marine vessel 10 in a more understandablemanner through 3D tracking with live feedback.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include automatic maneuveringand/or anchoring functionality. For example, the user interface for theanchoring view may include a selectable quick action (e.g.,“Auto-Anchor”) that when selected, causes the system 100 to determinethe anchoring locations, generate the corresponding anchorage qualityfor each, select one of the anchoring locations (e.g., based on anoptimization of anchorage quality and proximity) to navigate to,autonomously maneuver the marine vessel 10 to the selected anchoringlocation (e.g., using direct communication to the propulsion andsteering system) via the suggested best route of approach 248,automatically deploy the anchor of the marine vessel 10 at the idealposition using the anchoring system 140 to feed out the appropriateanchor line length, and set the anchoring location, all withoutrequiring any user input. In this way, the system 100 can securelyanchor the marine vessel 10 in an appropriate anchoring location withoutany active steps having to be taken by the user. In some embodiments,the system 100 may prompt the user for more information (e.g., regardingthe desired anchoring time, etc.) before automatically choosing theanchoring location. Likewise, there may be other quick actions (e.g.,automatically navigating to nearest and/or best anchoring location)selectable by the user from the anchoring view on the display 110 thatthe system 100 may provide to advantageously utilize its dynamicanchoring location determination functionality.

In some embodiments with a connected anchoring system 140, the system100 may include an auto-set anchor function. In such embodiments, oncethe system 100 generates the one or more anchoring zones (e.g., regions250, 252, 254 as shown and described with respect to FIG. 2) and theuser maneuvers the marine vessel 10 to be within an appropriateanchoring zone and stops the engine for a certain amount of time, theauto-set anchor function may be triggered. When the auto-set anchorfunction is triggered, the system 100 may automatically alert the userof an impending automated anchor deployment (e.g., in the bottom rightcorner of the display 110). In response, the user may then confirm ifanchor deployment is desired, such that the system 100 may follow apredefined set anchoring location procedure as laid out above in anautomated fashion. For example, in response to a set anchor prompt, theuser may defer the set anchoring task by selecting a “Cancel” option ormay speed up the anchoring task by selecting the “Set Anchor” option.

In some embodiments, the anchoring system 140 may be controlled by thesystem 100 via voice control and/or remote commands. In this way, theuser may command the system 100 to set the anchor without requiring aphysical touch interaction with the MFD and/or user input switch panel,for example.

In some embodiments, the anchoring system 140 may include one or moreanchor sensors and/or anchor line sensors. The anchor sensors mayprovide the system 100 with data (e.g., real-time or stored) regardingthe anchor type, anchor weight, location, and/or deployed state of theanchor, for example. The anchor line sensors may provide the system 100with data (e.g., real-time or stored) regarding the anchor line type,anchor line length available, and/or the anchor line length that hasbeen fed out with a deployed anchor. The system 100 may generate theanchorage quality based in part on the anchor type, anchor weight,anchor line type, and/or anchor line length available. In someembodiments, the system 100 may cause the dynamic anchoring diagram 291,the anchor setting menu 290, the dynamic swing radius indicator 230, themanual scope adjustor 231, and/or the scope ratio indicator 234 toreflect the real-time anchor and/or anchor line data provided by theanchoring system 140.

In some embodiments, the anchor may include an anchor sensor (e.g., adigital location anchor) configured to communicate the location of theanchor to the system 100. In such embodiments, the anchoring task may bemore accurate and/or include less steps for the user. For example, theanchor drop and/or location thereof may be automatically detected evenwithout an automated anchoring system controlled by the system 100, inthat the user may manually drop the anchor, and the system 100 maydetect a greater difference between the location of the anchor sensorand the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10. In response, thesystem 100 may automatically set the dropped anchor location and causethe display 110 to show the anchor drive line and compass guide to helpthe user reverse the marine vessel 10 to drive the anchor into theseabed 13.

In some embodiments, the anchoring system 140 may include, as an anchor,a power pole (e.g., a 1 meter pole) to fix the marine vessel 10 to ananchoring location in shallow waters. Data regarding the power pole maybe stored in the system 100 as part of the boat profile. The system 100may accordingly display the anchor icon for the set anchoring location233 at the location where the power pole is located on the hull of themarine vessel 10. The system 100 may also reflect the smaller swingradius afforded for the marine vessel 10 using the power pole to anchoron the dynamic swing radius indicator 230. In some embodiments, thepower pole may be automatically and/or remotely operated by the system100 as part of the anchoring system 140 with automated functionality.For example, the user may set or unset the power pole remotely (e.g.,using the MFD and/or mobile media device).

In some embodiments, the anchoring system 140 may include multipleanchors. In such embodiments, the system 100 may store the location,anchor type, anchor weight, anchor line length, and/or anchor line typeof each anchor as part of the boat profile. The system 100 may providethe user with control over each anchor by displaying selectable anchoricons for editing location, deployed state, etc. (e.g., in a mannersimilar to overboard markers). When using multiple anchors, the system100 may update the swing radius calculations and indicators to reflectthe anchoring setup. For example, using a pair of power poles may limitthe rotation of the marine vessel 10 at the set anchoring location 233such that the probable position 265 may be fixed rather than dependenton environmental data.

Example Anchor Monitoring Systems

In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein maymonitor the location and/or anchoring state of a marine vessel andprovide the user with notifications or alerts (e.g., onboard, remotely)regarding location and/or environmental changes. For example, the system100 may use the display 110 (e.g., MFD) and/or the user's mobile mediadevice to notify the user about anchoring status changes, etc.

After confirming the set anchoring location 233 (e.g., as describedabove with reference to FIG. 17), the system 100 may automaticallyprompt the user about setting an alarm zone (e.g., a circle about theset anchoring location 233 with an editable radius) against which thecurrent location 210 of the marine vessel 10 is monitored. If thecurrent location 210 of the marine vessel 10 and/or an external threatapproaches and/or crosses the outer edge of the alarm zone, the system100 may notify or alert the user with alarms onboard and/or remote fromthe marine vessel 10. In some embodiments, the system 100 may utilizevarious data inputs (e.g., radar, AIS, optical cameras, thermal cameras,ultrasonic sensors) to detect whether other vessels or threats enter thealarm zone and the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10 relativeto the alarm zone.

The system 100 may include dynamic calculations for generating asuggested alarm zone based on several variables, which may be unique tothe marine vessel 10 and/or set anchoring location 233. FIG. 21 is adiagram showing example alarm zone settings for the marine vessel 10.

The system 100 may calculate the current swing radius (R) as well as themaximum and minimum swing radius over the desired anchoring time basedon tide data. Using the current water depth (D), boat profile, scoperatio (L:D), and/or environmental data, the system 100 may calculate theanchor line length (L) and swing radius (R) at any given time (e.g., attime, t) with the following equations:

${L = {\left\lbrack {D + B + {T(t)} + {S(t)}} \right\rbrack \times \left\lbrack \frac{L}{D} \right\rbrack}}{R = \sqrt{L^{2} - D^{2}}}$

where B is the bow height of the marine vessel 10 (e.g., 1 m), T(t) isdifference in water depth due to the tide (e.g., 4 m), S(t) is thedifference in water depth due to swell (e.g., 0.5 m), and (L/D) is scoperatio (e.g., 5:1). The bow height may be entered by the user, determinedby the processor, and/or stored in memory as part of the boat profile.

The navigation system 130 of the marine vessel 10 may include a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) as a location sensor. The system 100may store the location of the GNSS on the marine vessel 10 (e.g., lengthoffset from the center of the marine vessel 10) as part of the boatprofile. In calculating the maximum drift for the alarm zone, the system100 may account for the horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) inmeters for the GNSS based on anchor data (e.g., the set anchoringlocation 233) and the current location 210 of the marine vessel 10 withfiltering and dead reckoning. Using the calculated swing radius (R), theGNSS HDOP, the boat profile, and/or a swing buffer, the system 100 maycalculate a drift alarm radius of the alarm zone with the followingequation:

Drift Alarm Radius=R+2V+G+F

where V is the length of the marine vessel 10 (e.g., 10 m), G is theGNSS HDOP, and F is swing buffer (e.g., 20 m). The length, GNSS HDOP,and/or swing buffer may be entered by the user, determined by theprocessor, and/or stored in memory as part of the boat profile. Forexample, with a 10 m vessel having a bow height of 1 m, a scope ratio of5:1, and a GNSS HDOP of 1 m, the anchor line length (L) at a water depth(D) of 12 m with a 4 m tide and 0.5 m swell would be 90 m, giving aswing radius (R) of about 90 m and a drift alarm radius of 131 m.

FIG. 22 shows the user interface 200 of FIG. 17 indicating that themarine vessel 10 has a confirmed set anchoring location 233 andprompting the user with an alarm zone prompt 261 to set an alarm zone.Selecting the alarm zone prompt 261 may trigger an alarm zone indicator260.

The alarm zone indicator 260 may be represented on the display 110 as aconcentric circle surrounding the set anchoring location 233 and thedynamic swing radius indicator 230, as shown in FIG. 23. The alarm zoneindicator 260 may include a swing buffer indicator menu 263 and an alarmzone confirmation prompt 264. In some embodiments, the user may edit thealarm zone by manually dragging the edge of the alarm zone indicator 260to the desired alarm zone radius. FIG. 23 shows the user interface 200of FIG. 22 indicating the user resizing the alarm zone indicator 260.

In some embodiments, the user may manually edit the alarm zone byselecting the swing buffer indicator menu 263. The user may type thedesired alarm zone radius into the swing buffer indicator menu 263 oruse the increase and decrease options to incrementally increase and/ordecrease the alarm zone. As the user edits the alarm zone, the alarmzone indicator 260 on the display 110 may increase and/or decrease tovisually represent the changes accordingly. In some embodiments,information about the alarm zone settings may be displayed in a sidemenu (not shown). The system 100 may limit the size of the alarm zone bypreventing the user from making the alarm zone too small. The system 100may indicate on the display 110 that the selected alarm zone size is toosmall, and thus, may be unsafe and/or ineffective. In response, thesystem 100 may automatically resize the alarm zone to the minimum safesize. In some embodiments, the user may also edit various other settingsfor the alarm zone. These settings may include the desired swing buffersize for the alarm zone and/or how the system 100 notifies the userabout potential threats.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may monitor the movement of themarine vessel 10 as the alarm zone indicator 260 is being edited orconfirmed by the user. This display of movement data may assist the userin setting the values and editing the alarm zone indicator 260 fordifferent drifting scenarios before confirming the alarm zone.Monitoring and displaying the current location 210 of the marine vessel10 before confirming may allow the user to easily see if alarm zoneindicator 260 is set at an appropriate size.

Once confirmed, the alarm zone indicator 260 may indicate that it hasbeen saved and set, as shown in FIG. 24. FIG. 24 shows the userinterface 200 of FIG. 22 indicating that the alarm zone for the marinevessel 10 is set and displaying a selectable disable alarm prompt 266 tothe user to disable the set alarm zone. The user may edit the setanchoring location 233 by dragging the anchor icon to the desiredanchoring location. If the new anchoring location is closer to themarine vessel 10, the alarm zone may stay the same size. If the newanchoring location is farther from the current location 210 of themarine vessel 10, the alarm zone may increase accordingly.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow the user to stop alarmzone alerts by disabling the alarm zone using the disable alarm prompt266, moving the set anchoring location 233, and/or resizing the alarmzone.

After the alarm zone is set, the system 100 may monitor the movement ofthe current location 210 of the marine vessel 10 relative to the setalarm zone. Additionally, the system 100 may monitor the alarm zone forpotential threats to the marine vessel 10. In some embodiments, thesystem 100 may cause the display 110 to change the color of the alarmzone indicator 260 when the marine vessel 10 is crossing and/orapproaching the edge of the alarm zone. The threshold for approachingthe alarm zone may be defined by the swing buffer and GNSS HDOPdescribed above.

If the system 100 detects that the current location 210 of the marinevessel 10 has moved outside of the alarm zone, the user may be alertedonboard (e.g., via the MFD) and/or remotely (e.g., via the user's mobilemedia device through a companion app).

In addition to monitoring the current location 210 of the marine vessel10 relative to the set alarm zone, the system 100 may monitor the alarmzone for potential threats moving into and/or approaching the alarmzone. In some embodiments, the user may select detected objects aroundthe marine vessel 10 to mark as a threat such that the system thenmonitors the selected object (e.g., nearby anchored vessels 262,uncharted rocks, buoys).

Moreover, in addition to generating the anchorage quality based onenvironmental data, the system 100 may use this data to alert the userabout any threat from the terrain or environment around the selectedanchoring location and/or current location 210. For example, threats mayinclude the potential for changing tides to leave the marine vessel 10unable to leave a cove, unsuitable seabed composition for the anchortype onboard, the water depth in relation to the keel of the marinevessel 10, and/or surface and underwater hazards.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may monitor the weather and alertthe user (e.g., via the MFD and/or mobile media device) regarding achange of forecast and/or current conditions that may alter theanchoring conditions.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may utilize automatedfunctionalities in response to detected threats. For example, theengines of the marine vessel 10 could be automatically started whenmovement of the marine vessel 10 outside the alarm zone is detected inorder to save the user time in case of emergency.

The system 100 may include a companion software application fornotifying the user about the anchoring conditions (e.g., anchor set,marine vessel drifting, threat entering alarm zone, weather alarm, tidealarm, MFD entering sleep mode, vessel battery status, alarm zonedisabled, connectivity issues, etc.)

In some embodiments, a set anchoring location notification (e.g.,“Anchor Set”—informing the user about details of the set anchoringlocation 233 and confirming connection to MFD) is also sent to theuser's mobile media device (e.g., via a companion software application(“app”)). The companion app may allow the user to edit and view theanchor activity with similar functionality to the MFD.

While the marine vessel 10 is secured at the set anchoring location, thesystem 100 may send notifications and/or alerts to the user via thedisplay 110 (e.g., MFD) or on the user's mobile media device with acompanion app. For example, the system 100 may send a message to theuser as a notification on the user's mobile media device if the weatheris significantly changing (e.g., “Low tide in 2 hours”—informing userthat the marine vessel 10 could encounter problems with the tide if themarine vessel 10 remains anchored, “Storm expected in 3 hours”—informinguser that the marine vessel 10 could encounter problems with the weatherif the marine vessel 10 remains anchored).

In some embodiments, if the MFD is not powered on, then a low-powerpositioning and communication device may be employed to monitor thecurrent location of the marine vessel 10 via a companion softwareapplication on a mobile media device.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow the user to select a“Watch” mode, which causes the MFD to enter into a low-power hibernationmode. The user may still monitor and edit the alarm zone from thecompanion app while the MFD is in hibernation mode. When entering thehibernation mode, the MFD may fade out in a reassuring manner indicatinginitialization of the hibernation mode to the user. At the same time, anotification may appear on the companion app to inform the user that theMFD is sleeping. The MFD may wake up from hibernation mode to sound analarm. For example, at night, the system 100 may flash to alert the useronboard of an issue.

If any battery levels fall below a certain threshold, the system 100 mayaccordingly send a notification to the companion app. In response to alow battery notification, the user may be able to edit the anchoringsettings from the companion app (e.g., turning off alarm zone and/orother systems) in order to conserve battery power. Pressing the powerbutton may wake the MFD from hibernation mode.

In some embodiments, to prevent inconvenient false alarms (e.g., fromwhen a user drives the marine vessel 10 out of the alarm zone withoutfirst disabling it), the system 100 may be configured to detect whetherleaving the alarm zone was intentional. For example, if the user departsthe alarm zone with engines of the marine vessel 10 engaged or in gear,and/or over a certain speed (e.g., a speed generally faster thandrifting), the system 100 may automatically cancel the alarm zone.Moreover, motion rules for the system 100 may be optimized to allow theuser to maneuver the marine vessel 10 for other activities withoutleaving such that the alarm zone is not unintentionally cancelled.

When the system 100 detects the marine vessel 10 leaving the setanchoring location 233, a prompt may appear on the display 110 askingthe user to rate the anchoring location and/or give more information tohelp build the community database of anchoring data.

Other variations of the user interfaces depicted for the anchoring viewof the system 100 are possible. For example, the system 100 may becustomized such that the display 110 depicts a virtual rendering of theuser's particular marine vessel including its dimensions (e.g., lengthand beam). In such embodiments, at zoom levels too far out the userinterface may show a boat icon instead of the user's custom vessel. Thegraphical representations of the marine vessel 10 may be color coded toinform the user of potential threats at the current location.Additionally or alternatively, the system 100 may be configured tochange the color of the boat icon to represent the anchorage quality atthe current location, for example. FIG. 25 shows example user interfaceaspects for the anchoring views of a marine vessel.

Example System Architecture

FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of an example system 400 capable for usewith several embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, the system400 may include a number of different modules or components, each ofwhich may comprise any device or means embodied in either hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software configured toperform one or more corresponding functions. For example, the system 400may include a marine electronics device 405 (e.g., controller) and anarray of sensors.

The marine electronics device 405, controller, remote control, MFD,and/or user interface display may include a processor 410 (which mayinclude a fuzzy controller), a memory 420, a communication interface430, a user interface 435, a display 440, and one or more sensors (e.g.,a position sensor 445, sensor module 106, and/or other sensors 447).

In some embodiments, the system 400 may be configured such that the oneor more processors electrically control various marine devices (e.g.,propulsion system 110, marine system 120) in addition to the featuresdescribed herein. This forms a compact and integrated system.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may be configured to receive,process, and display various types of marine data. In some embodiments,the system 400 may include one or more processors 410 and a memory 420.Additionally, the system 400 may include one or more components that areconfigured to gather marine data or perform marine features. In such aregard, the processor 410 may be configured to process the marine dataand generate one or more images corresponding to the marine data fordisplay on the screen that is integrated in the MFD. Further, the system400 may be configured to communicate with various internal or externalcomponents (e.g., through the communication interface 430), such as toprovide instructions related to the marine data.

The processor 410 (which may include, for example, a fuzzy controller)may be any means configured to execute various programmed operations orinstructions stored in a memory, such as a device and/or circuitryoperating in accordance with software or otherwise embodied in hardwareor a combination thereof (e.g., a processor operating under softwarecontrol, a processor embodied as an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA) specificallyconfigured to perform the operations described herein, or a combinationthereof) thereby configuring the device or circuitry to perform thecorresponding functions of the processor 410 as described herein. Inthis regard, the processor 410 may be configured to analyze electricalsignals communicated thereto to provide display data to the display toindicate the direction of the sonar system 120 relative to the marinevessel 10.

In some example embodiments, the processor 410 may be configured toreceive sonar data indicative of the size, location, shape, etc. ofobjects detected by the system 400. For example, the processor 410 maybe configured to receive sonar return data and process the sonar returndata to generate sonar image data for display to a user (e.g., ondisplay 440). In some embodiments, the processor 410 may be furtherconfigured to implement signal processing and/or enhancement features toimprove the display characteristics, data, and/or images, to collectand/or process additional data (e.g., time, temperature, GPSinformation, waypoint designations), and/or to filter extraneous data tobetter analyze the collected data. In some embodiments, the processor410 may further implement notices and/or alarms (e.g., alerts determinedor adjusted by a user) to reflect depth measurements, the presence offish, the proximity of other marine vessels, status or notifications forperipheral devices/systems, etc. The processor 410 and memory 420 mayform processing circuitry.

The memory 420 may be configured to store instructions, computer programcode, marine data (e.g., sonar data, chart data, location/positiondata), and/or other data associated with the system 400 in anon-transitory computer readable medium for use by the processor, forexample.

The system 400 may also include one or more communications modulesconfigured to communicate via any of many known manners, such as via anetwork, for example. The processing circuitry and communicationinterface 430 may form a processing circuitry/communication interface.The communication interface 430 may be configured to enable connectionsto external systems (e.g., an external network 402 or one or more remotecontrols, such as a handheld remote control, MFD, foot pedal, or otherremote computing device). In this regard, the communication interface(e.g., 430) may include one or more of a plurality of differentcommunication backbones or frameworks, such as Ethernet, USB, CAN, NMEA2000, GPS, Sonar, cellular, WiFi, and/or other suitable networks, forexample. In this manner, the processor 410 may retrieve stored data froma remote, external server via the external network 402 in addition to oras an alternative to the onboard memory 420. The network may alsosupport other data sources, including GPS, autopilot, engine data,compass, radar, etc. Numerous other peripheral, remote devices such asone or more wired or wireless multi-function displays may be connectedto the system 400.

The processor 410 may configure the device and/or circuitry to performthe corresponding functions of the processor 410 as described herein. Inthis regard, the processor 410 may be configured to analyze electricalsignals communicated thereto to provide, for example, variousfeatures/functions described herein.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may be configured to determine thelocation of the marine vessel 10, such as through position sensor 445.Accordingly, the processor (such as through execution of computerprogram code) may be configured to receive the marine data from theposition sensor, process the marine data to generate an image includinga chart with the location from the position sensor, and cause the screento display the image. Accordingly, the display 440 and/or user interface435 may be configured to display the image including the chart.

The position sensor 445 may be configured to determine the currentposition and/or location of the system 400. For example, the positionsensor 445 may comprise a GPS or other location detection system. Theposition sensor 445 may be found in one or more of the MFD, a trollingmotor assembly, the sonar system, the radar system, and/or other marinedevice, and/or remotely. In some embodiments, the position sensor 445may be configured to determine a direction of which the marine vessel 10is facing. In some embodiments, the position sensor 445 may be operablycoupled to a rotational mechanism of a marine device, such that theposition sensor 445 measures the rotational change in position of themarine device (e.g., trolling motor assembly or sonar system as thetrolling motor or sonar view direction 122 is turned). The positionsensor 445 may be a magnetic sensor, a light sensor, mechanical sensor,or the like.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may be configured to determine thelocation of the marine vessel 10, such as through location sensor. Thesystem 400 may comprise, or be associated with, a navigation system thatincludes the location sensor. For example, the location sensor maycomprise a GPS, bottom contour, inertial navigation system, such as amicro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensor, a ring laser gyroscope,or the like, or other location detection system. In such a regard, theprocessor 410 may be configured to act as a navigation system. Forexample, the processor 410 may generate at least one waypoint and, insome cases, generate an image of a chart along with the waypoint fordisplay by the screen. Additionally or alternatively, the processor maygenerate one or more routes associated with the watercraft. The locationof the vessel, waypoints, and/or routes may be displayed on a navigationchart on a display remote from the system 400. Further, additionalnavigation features (e.g., providing directions, weather information,etc.) are also contemplated.

In addition to position, navigation, and sonar data, example embodimentsof the present disclosure contemplate receipt, processing, andgeneration of images that include other marine data. For example, thedisplay 440 and/or user interface 435 may be configured to displayimages associated with vessel or motor status (e.g., gauges) or othermarine data.

In any of the embodiments, the display 440 may be configured to displayan indication of the current direction of the marine vessel 10.

The display 440 may be configured to display images and may include orotherwise be in communication with a user interface 435 configured toreceive input from a user. The display 440 may be, for example, aconventional liquid crystal display (LCD), LED/OLED display, touchscreendisplay, mobile media device, and/or any other suitable display known inthe art, upon which images may be displayed. In some embodiments, thedisplay 440 may be the MFD and/or the user's mobile media device. Thedisplay may be integrated into the marine electronic device 405. In someexample embodiments, additional displays may also be included, such as atouch screen display, mobile media device, or any other suitable displayknown in the art upon which images may be displayed.

In some embodiments, the display 440 may present one or more sets ofmarine data and/or images generated therefrom. Such marine data mayinclude chart data, radar data, weather data, location data, positiondata, orientation data, sonar data, and/or any other type of informationrelevant to the marine vessel 10. In some embodiments, the display 440may be configured to present marine data simultaneously as one or morelayers and/or in split-screen mode. In some embodiments, the user mayselect various combinations of the marine data for display. In otherembodiments, various sets of marine data may be superimposed or overlaidonto one another. For example, a route may be applied to (or overlaidonto) a chart (e.g., a map or navigation chart). Additionally oralternatively, depth information, weather information, radarinformation, sonar information, and/or any other display inputs may beapplied to and/or overlaid onto one another.

In some embodiments, the display 440 and/or user interface may be ascreen that is configured to merely present images and not receive userinput. In other embodiments, the display and/or user interface may be auser interface such that it is configured to receive user input in someform. For example, the screen may be a touchscreen that enables touchinput from a user. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface mayinclude one or more buttons (not shown) that enable user input.

Additionally, the display may be configured to display other relevantmotor information including, but not limited to, speed data, motor databattery data, current operating mode, auto pilot, or the like. Forexample, in some example embodiments, the system 400 may include aplurality of operating modes, such as a manual or normal mode, aneco-mode, an anchor mode, an autopilot mode, a speed lock mode, aheading lock mode, or the like. The processor 410 may receive anindication of the current operating mode and generate display dataindicative of the current operating mode. In an example embodiment, themode may be represented by a number, letter, or character valuedisplayed, such as on the seven-segment display. Additionally oralternatively, each mode may be represented by a mode icon. For example,a manual mode may be represented by a manual mode icon, such as apropeller, an eco-mode may be represented by an eco-mode icon, such as aleaf, a speed lock mode may be represented by a speed lock icon, such asa vessel outline with arrow, an anchor lock mode may be represented byan anchor lock icon, such as an anchor, and a heading lock mode may berepresented by a heading lock icon, such as a vessel outline with adirectional indicator. In addition to the mode icons, otherinformational icons may also be provided. In an example embodiment, thedigital display may include one or more of a speed icon, a battery icon,and a motor icon. These additional icons may be used to indicate thetype of data displayed on the seven-segment display. For example, noicon may be indicated when speed data is displayed, however, a batteryicon or motor icon may be displayed to indicate battery data or motordata is being displayed, respectively.

The user interface 435 may include, for example, a keyboard, keypad,function keys, mouse, scrolling device, input/output ports, touchscreen, or any other mechanism by which a user may interface with thesystem.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may comprise an autopilot that isconfigured to operate the propulsion system 110 to propel the marinevessel 10 in a direction and at a speed. In some embodiments, theautopilot may direct the marine vessel 10 to a waypoint (e.g., alatitude and longitude coordinate). Additionally or alternatively, theautopilot may be configured to direct the marine vessel 10 along aroute, such as in conjunction with the navigation system. Further,additional autopilot features (e.g., anchoring) are also contemplated.In some example embodiment, the processor 410 may receive an indicationof the motor operating condition being the autopilot mode. The processor410 may generate display data based on the autopilot operating mode andcause an indication of the autopilot operating mode to be displayed onthe digital display in the first portion, such as an autopilot icon.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may comprise a sonar systemincluding a sonar transducer assembly 448. The sonar transducer assembly448 may be housed in the sonar system and configured to gather sonardata from the underwater environment relative to the marine vessel 10.Accordingly, the processor 410 (such as through execution of computerprogram code) may be configured to receive an indication of operation ofthe sonar transducer assembly 448. The processor 410 may generateadditional display data indicative of the operation of the sonartransducer and cause the display data to be displayed on the digitaldisplay. For example, a sonar icon (not shown) may be energized toindicate that the sonar transducer is operating.

In some embodiments, the sonar system 120 may be used to determine depthand bottom topography, detect fish, locate wreckage, etc. Sonar beams,from a sonar transducer assembly 448, can be transmitted into theunderwater environment. The sonar signals reflect off objects in theunderwater environment (e.g., fish, structure, sea floor bottom, etc.)and return to the sonar transducer assembly, which converts the sonarreturns into sonar data that can be used to produce an image of theunderwater environment.

In an example embodiment, the system 400 may include a speed sensor,such as an electromagnetic speed sensor, paddle wheel speed sensor, orthe like. The speed sensor may be configured to measure the speed of themarine vessel 10 through the water. The processor 410 may receive speeddata from the speed sensor and generate additional display dataindicative of the speed of the marine vessel 10 through the water. Thespeed data may be displayed, such as in text format on the first portionof the digital display. The speed data may be displayed in any relevantunit, such as miles per hour, kilometers per hour, feet per minute, orthe like. In some instances, a unit identifier, such as a plurality ofLEDs, may be provided in association with the display (may be shown innormal text or with a seven-digit display). The processor 410 may causean LED associated with the appropriate unit for the speed data to beilluminated.

In some example embodiments, the system 400 may include a motor sensor.The motor sensor may be a voltage sensor, a rotation per minute (RPM)sensor, a current sensor, or other suitable sensor to measure the outputof the propulsion system 110. The processor 410 may receive the motordata from the motor sensor and determine a motor output. In an exampleembodiment, the motor data may be compared to a data table (which may bestored in memory 420) to determine a motor output, such as a percentageof maximum motor output. The processor 410 may generate additionaldisplay data indicative of the motor output and cause the display datato be displayed in the first portion of the digital display. Forexample, the motor data may be the measured voltage, current, or RPMdisplayed in the display, a percentage of the maximum motor outputdisplayed in the display or graphically in a segment bar, a high or lowmotor output warning light, or other suitable display. The segment barmay include a plurality of display segments which may be energized orde-energized to indicate a corresponding proportion of the maximumoutput of the motor.

In some embodiments, the system 400 further includes a power source(e.g., battery) that is configured to provide power to the variouscomponents. In some embodiments, the power source is rechargeable. Insome example embodiments, the system 400 includes a battery sensor. Thebattery sensor may include a current sensor or voltage sensor configuredto measure the current charge of a battery power supply of the system400 (e.g., the power source). The battery sensor may be configured tomeasure individual battery cells or measure a battery bank. Theprocessor 410 may receive battery data from the battery sensor anddetermine the remaining charge on the battery. In an example embodiment,the voltage or current measured by the battery sensor may be compared toa reference value or data table, stored in memory 420, to determine theremaining charge on the battery.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may include other sensors. Forexample, in some embodiments, the system 400 may include anaccelerometer for measuring acceleration data, which may be logged bythe processor. The acceleration data may be utilized for maintenance,warranties, accident investigation, and/or product data collection forquality control. In some embodiments, the system 400 may include anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or a magnetometer, which may be portionsof a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS). In some embodiments, theaccelerometer may be a variable capacitive (VC) MEMS accelerometer, apiezoresistive (PR) MEMS accelerometer, or the like. The gyroscope maybe configured to measure angular velocity. In some embodiments, thegyroscope may be a vibrating structure MEMS gyroscope includinggyroscopic sensors oriented in a plurality of axes. The magnetometer maybe configured to measure magnetic field strength, which can be used tofind magnetic north and/or heading angle. In some embodiments, themagnetometer may be a Lorentz force based MEMS sensor, electrontunneling MEMS sensor, MEMS compass, or the like.

Implementations of various technologies described herein may beoperational with numerous general purpose or special purpose computingsystem environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable foruse with the various technologies described herein include, but are notlimited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptopdevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set topboxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers,mainframe computers, smart phones, tablets, wearable computers, cloudcomputing systems, virtual computers, marine electronics devices, andthe like.

The various technologies described herein may be implemented in generalcontext of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules,being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperforms particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Further, each program module may be implemented in its own way, and allneed not be implemented the same way. While program modules may allexecute on a single computing system, it should be appreciated that, insome instances, program modules may be implemented on separate computingsystems and/or devices adapted to communicate with one another. Further,a program module may be some combination of hardware and software whereparticular tasks performed by the program module may be done eitherthrough hardware, software, or both.

The various technologies described herein may be implemented in thecontext of marine electronics, such as devices found in marine vesselsand/or navigation systems. Ship instruments and equipment may beconnected to the computing systems described herein for executing one ormore navigation technologies. As such, the computing systems may beconfigured to operate using sonar, radar, GPS and like technologies.

The various technologies described herein may also be implemented indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network(e.g., by hardwired links, wireless links, or combinations thereof). Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

The system 400 may include a computer device or system 450 (e.g., mobilemedia device) into which implementations of various technologies andtechniques described herein may be implemented. Computing system 450 maybe a conventional desktop, a handheld device, a wearable device, acontroller, a personal digital assistant, a server computer, anelectronic device/instrument, a laptop, a tablet, or part of anavigation system, marine electronics, or sonar system. It should benoted, however, that other computer system configurations may be used.

The computing system 450 may include a central processing unit (CPU), asystem memory and a system bus that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory to the CPU. In some implementations thecomputing system 450 may include more than one CPU.

The CPU can include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a processor, aprogrammable integrated circuit, or a combination thereof. The CPU cancomprise an off-the-shelf processor such as a Reduced Instruction SetComputer (RISC), including an Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) processor, ora Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS) processor,or a combination thereof. The CPU may also include a proprietaryprocessor. The CPU may include a multi-core processor.

The CPU may provide output data to a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). TheGPU may generate graphical user interfaces that present the output data.The GPU may also provide objects, such as menus, in the graphical userinterface. A user may provide inputs by interacting with the objects.The GPU may receive the inputs from interaction with the objects andprovide the inputs to the CPU. In one implementation, the CPU mayperform the tasks of the GPU. A video adapter may be provided to convertgraphical data into signals for a monitor. The monitor includes ascreen. The screen can be sensitive to heat or touching (nowcollectively referred to as a “touch screen”). In one implementation,the computer system 450 may not include a monitor.

The GPU may be a microprocessor specifically designed to manipulate andimplement computer graphics. The CPU may offload work to the GPU. TheGPU may have its own graphics memory, and/or may have access to aportion of the system memory. As with the CPU, the GPU may include oneor more processing units, and each processing unit may include one ormore cores.

The system bus may be any of several types of bus structures, includinga memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bususing any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus.The system memory may include a read only memory (ROM) and a randomaccess memory (RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS), containing thebasic routines that help transfer information between elements withinthe computing system 450, such as during start-up, may be stored in theROM. The computing system may be implemented using a printed circuitboard containing various components including processing units, datastorage memory, and connectors.

Certain implementations may be configured to be connected to a GPSand/or a sonar system. The GPS and/or sonar system may be connected viathe network interface or Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. In oneimplementation, the computing system 450, the monitor, the screen andbuttons may be integrated into a console.

The computing system 450 may further include a hard disk drive forreading from and writing to a hard disk, a memory card reader forreading from and writing to a removable memory card and an optical diskdrive for reading from and writing to a removable optical disk, such asa CD ROM, DVD ROM or other optical media. The hard disk drive, thememory card reader, and the optical disk drive may be connected to thesystem bus by a hard disk drive interface, a memory card interface, andan optical drive interface, respectively. The drives and theirassociated computer-readable media may provide nonvolatile storage ofcomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the computing system 450.

Although the computing system 450 is described herein as having a harddisk, a removable memory card, and a removable optical disk, it shouldbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that the computing system 450may also include other types of computer-readable media that may beaccessed by a computer. For example, such computer-readable media mayinclude computer storage media and communication media. Computer storagemedia may include volatile and non-volatile, and removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media may furtherinclude RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other solid state memory technology, including a Solid StateDisk (SSD), CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which can be accessed by the computingsystem 450. Communication media may embody computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and may include any information delivery media. By way ofexample, and not limitation, communication media may include wired mediasuch as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. The computingsystem 450 may also include a host adapter that connects to a storagedevice via a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, a Fiber Channelbus, an eSATA bus, or using any other applicable computer bus interface.The computing system 450 can also be connected to a router to establisha wide area network (WAN) with one or more remote computers. The routermay be connected to the system bus via a network interface. The remotecomputers can also include hard disks that store application programs.

In another implementation, the computing system 450 may also connect toone or more remote computers via local area network (LAN) or the WAN.When using a LAN networking environment, the computing system 450 may beconnected to the LAN through the network interface or adapter. The LANmay be implemented via a wired connection or a wireless connection. TheLAN may be implemented using Wi-Fi technology, cellular technology, orany other implementation known to those skilled in the art. The networkinterface may also utilize remote access technologies (e.g., RemoteAccess Service (RAS), Virtual Private Networking (VPN), Secure SocketLayer (SSL), Layer 2 Tunneling (L2T), or any other suitable protocol).These remote access technologies may be implemented in connection withthe remote computers. It will be appreciated that the networkconnections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing acommunications link between the computer systems may be used. Thenetwork interface may also include digital cellular networks, Bluetooth,or any other wireless network interface.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, memory card,optical disk, ROM, or RAM, including an operating system, one or moreapplication programs, program data, and a database system. The one ormore application programs may contain program instructions configured toperform methods (e.g., method 700, 800, 900) according to variousimplementations described herein. The operating system may be anysuitable operating system that may control the operation of a networkedpersonal or server computer, such as Windows® XP, Mac OS® X,Unix-variants (e.g., Linux® and BSD®), Android®, iOS®, and the like.

A user may enter commands and information into the computing system 450through input devices such as a keyboard and pointing device. Otherinput devices may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellitedish, scanner, user input button, wearable device, or the like. Theseand other input devices may be connected to the CPU through a USBinterface coupled to system bus, but may be connected by otherinterfaces, such as a parallel port, Bluetooth or a game port. A monitoror other type of display device may also be connected to system bus viaan interface, such as a video adapter. In addition to the monitor, thecomputing system 450 may further include other peripheral output devicessuch as speakers and printers.

In various implementations, each marine electronic device 405 describedherein may be referred to as a marine device or as an MFD. The marineelectronic device 405 may include one or more components disposed atvarious locations on a marine vessel. Such components may include one ormore data modules, sensors, instrumentation, and/or any other devicesknown to those skilled in the art that may transmit various types ofdata to the marine electronic device 405 for processing and/or display.The various types of data transmitted to the marine electronic device405 may include marine electronics data and/or other data types known tothose skilled in the art. The marine data received from the marineelectronic device 405 or system 400 may include chart data, sonar data,structure data, radar data, navigation data, position data, headingdata, automatic identification system (AIS) data, Doppler data, speeddata, course data, or any other type known to those skilled in the art.

In one implementation, the marine electronic device 405 may include aradar sensor for recording the radar data and/or the Doppler data, acompass heading sensor for recording the heading data, and a positionsensor for recording the position data. In another implementation, themarine electronic device 405 may include a sonar transducer forrecording the sonar data, an AIS transponder for recording the AIS data,a paddlewheel sensor for recording the speed data, and/or the like.

The marine electronic device 405 may receive external data via a LAN ora WAN. In some implementations, external data may relate to informationnot available from various marine electronics systems. The external datamay be retrieved from various sources, such as, e.g., the Internet orany other source. The external data may include atmospheric temperature,atmospheric pressure, tidal data, weather, temperature, moon phase,sunrise, sunset, water levels, historic fishing data, and/or variousother fishing and/or trolling related data and information.

The marine electronic device 405 may be attached to various buses and/ornetworks, such as a National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) busor network, for example. The marine electronic device 405 may send orreceive data to or from another device attached to the NMEA 2000 bus.For instance, the marine electronic device 405 may transmit commands andreceive data from a motor or a sensor using an NMEA 2000 bus. In someimplementations, the marine electronic device 405 may be capable ofsteering a marine vessel and controlling the speed of the marine vessel(e.g., autopilot). For instance, one or more waypoints may be input tothe marine electronic device 405, and the marine electronic device 405may be configured to steer the marine vessel to the one or morewaypoints. Further, the marine electronic device 405 may be configuredto transmit and/or receive NMEA 2000 compliant messages, messages in aproprietary format that do not interfere with NMEA 2000 compliantmessages or devices, and/or messages in any other format. In variousother implementations, the marine electronic device 405 may be attachedto various other communication buses and/or networks configured to usevarious other types of protocols that may be accessed via, e.g., NMEA2000, NMEA 0183, Ethernet, Proprietary wired protocol, etc. In someimplementations, the marine electronic device 405 may communicate withvarious other devices on the marine vessel 10 via wireless communicationchannels and/or protocols.

In some implementations, the marine electronic device 405 may beconnected to a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. The marineelectronic device 405 and/or the GPS receiver may be connected via anetwork interface. In this instance, the GPS receiver may be used todetermine position and coordinate data for a marine vessel on which themarine electronic device 405 is disposed. In some instances, the GPSreceiver may transmit position coordinate data to the marine electronicdevice 405. In various other instances, any type of known positioningsystem may be used to determine and/or provide position coordinate datato/for the marine electronic device 405.

The marine electronic device 405 may be configured as a computing systemsimilar to computing device 450.

Described herein are implementations of various technologies for anon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereoncomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer,cause the computer to perform various actions. The actions may includedisplaying buttons or icons corresponding to a plurality of autopilots.The actions may include receiving a selection of one of the autopilots.The actions may include displaying autopilot commands corresponding tothe selected autopilot. The actions may include receiving a selection ofone of the commands. The actions may also include transmitting a messagecorresponding to the selected command to the selected autopilot.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for anapparatus for displaying marine electronic data. The device includes oneor more processors, a screen configured to display marine data, and amemory. The memory has a plurality of executable instructions. When theexecutable instructions are executed by the one or more processors, theprocessors may display buttons or icons corresponding to a plurality ofautopilots. The processors may receive a selection of one of theautopilots. The processors may display autopilot commands correspondingto the selected autopilot. The processors may receive a selection of oneof the commands. The processors may also transmit a messagecorresponding to the selected command to the selected autopilot.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for anon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereoncomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer,cause the computer to perform various actions. The actions may includereceiving a selection of a first autopilot from a plurality ofautopilots. The actions may include receiving a command for the firstautopilot. The actions may include transmitting a first message to asecond autopilot. The first message includes instructions to deactivatethe second autopilot. The actions may also include transmitting a secondmessage corresponding to the command to the first autopilot.

While the foregoing is directed to implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein, other and further implementations may be devisedwithout departing from the basic scope thereof, which may be determinedby the claims that follow.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

Example Flowchart(s)

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods for assisting theuser with anchoring tasks associated with a marine vessel (e.g., findingand/or selecting anchoring locations, navigating to anchoring locations,deploying the anchor, monitoring once anchored). Various examples of theoperations performed in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure will now be provided with reference to FIGS. 27-30.

FIG. 27 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method fordetermining one or more anchoring locations and a correspondinganchorage quality for each according to an example embodiment 600. Theoperations illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 27 may, forexample, be performed by, with the assistance of, and/or under thecontrol of one or more of the processor 410, memory 420, communicationinterface 430, user interface 435, display 440, marine system 120,marine device, position sensor 445, computing device 450, remote server460, and/or other components described herein.

Operation 602 may comprise receiving inputs (e.g., current location,zoom level, desired anchoring time, marine data, environmental data,chart data, boat profile data). The processor 410, marine system 120,marine device, display 440, sensor module 106, and/or computing device450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 602.

Operation 604 may comprise determining the scope of the surroundingarea. The processor 410, display 440, and/or computing device 450 may,for example, provide means for performing operation 604. Operation 604may be optional.

Operation 606 may comprise filtering out locations from the surroundingarea that are not anchorable. The processor 410, sensor module 106,marine system 120, marine device, and/or computing device 450 may, forexample, provide means for performing operation 606. Operation 606 maybe optional.

At operation 608, the method 600 may comprise determining one or moreanchoring locations in the surrounding area based on one or more of thereceived inputs. The controller, processor 410, marine system 120,marine device, sensor module 106, and/or computing device 450 may, forexample, provide means for performing operation 608. At operation 610,the method 600 may comprise generating an anchorage quality index foreach of the one or more determined anchoring locations based on one ormore of the received inputs. The controller, processor 410, and/orcomputing device 450 may, for example, provide means for performingoperation 610. At operation 612, the method 600 may comprise displayingthe one or more anchoring locations with a visual indication of thecorresponding anchorage quality index for the one or more anchoringlocations. The controller, processor 410, display 440, and/or computingdevice 450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 612.

FIG. 28 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method forsetting an anchoring location according to an example embodiment 700.The operations illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 28 may,for example, be performed by, with the assistance of, and/or under thecontrol of one or more of the processor 410, memory 420, communicationinterface 430, user interface 435, display 440, marine system 120,marine device, position sensor 445, computing device 450, remote server460, and/or other components described herein.

Operation 702 may comprise receiving a user selection of an anchoringlocation. The processor 410, sensor module 106, display 440, and/orcomputing device 450 may, for example, provide means for performingoperation 702. Operation 704 may comprise generating a route to theselected anchoring location. The processor 410, marine system 120,marine device, display 440, and/or computing device 450 may, forexample, provide means for performing operation 704. Operation 706 maycomprise monitoring the current location of the marine vessel. Theprocessor 410, position sensor 445, sensor module 106, mobile mediadevice, and/or computing device 450 may, for example, provide means forperforming operation 706.

At operation 708, the method 700 may comprise displaying anchoringdetails and/or a suggested best route of approach when the currentlocation is detected to be within a predetermined distance threshold ofthe selected anchoring location. The controller, processor 410, display440, and/or computing device 450 may, for example, provide means forperforming operation 708. Operation 708 may be optional.

At operation 710, the method 700 may comprise displaying an anchor driveline in response to detected anchoring. The controller, processor 410,sensor module 106, display 440, and/or computing device 450 may, forexample, provide means for performing operation 710. Operation 710 maybe optional.

At operation 712, the method 700 may comprise displaying an estimatedanchoring location and/or a confirm set anchoring location prompt touser. The controller, processor 410, display 440, and/or computingdevice 450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 712.

At operation 714, the method 700 may comprise displaying a set anchoringlocation notification in response to receiving confirmation from theuser. The controller, processor 410, display 440, and/or computingdevice 450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 714.Operation 714 may be optional.

FIG. 29 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method fordetecting an anchoring location according to an example embodiment 800.The operations illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 29 may,for example, be performed by, with the assistance of, and/or under thecontrol of one or more of the processor 410, memory 420, communicationinterface 430, user interface 435, display 440, marine system 120,marine device, position sensor 445, computing device 450, remote server460, and/or other components described herein.

Operation 802 may comprise monitoring the current location of the marinevessel in relation to the one or more anchoring locations determined bythe system. The controller, processor 410, sensor module 106, positionsensor 445, mobile media device, and/or computing device 450 may, forexample, provide means for performing operation 802. Operation 804 maycomprise displaying an estimated anchoring location and confirmationprompt in response to detecting that the current location of the marinevessel has been within an appropriate anchoring zone for longer than apredetermined anchoring time threshold. The controller, processor 410,display 440, sensor module 106, mobile media device, and/or computingdevice 450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 804.Operation 806 may comprise receiving one or more user inputs editingand/or confirming the anchoring location. The controller, processor 410,display 440, and/or computing device 450 may, for example, provide meansfor performing operation 806.

At operation 808, the method 800 may comprise displaying an anchor driveline in response to confirmation of the estimated anchoring location asthe anchoring location. The controller, processor 410, display 440,and/or computing device 450 may, for example, provide means forperforming operation 808. Operation 808 may be optional.

At operation 810, the method 800 may comprise displaying an estimatedanchoring location and/or a confirm set anchoring location prompt touser. The controller, processor 410, display 440, and/or computingdevice 450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 810.

At operation 812, the method 800 may comprise displaying a set anchoringlocation notification in response to receiving a confirmation from theuser. The controller, processor 410, display 440, sensor module 106,and/or computing device 450 may, for example, provide means forperforming operation 812. Operation 812 may be optional.

FIG. 30 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method formonitoring a marine vessel at a set anchoring location according to anexample embodiment 900. The operations illustrated in and described withrespect to FIG. 30 may, for example, be performed by, with theassistance of, and/or under the control of one or more of thecontroller, processor 410, memory 420, communication interface 430, userinterface 435, display 440, marine system 120, marine device, positionsensor 445, computing device 450, remote server 460, and/or othercomponents described herein.

Operation 902 may comprise calculating an alarm zone based on one ormore inputs (e.g., boat profile, anchor line length, marine data, chartdata, environmental data) in response to confirmation of a set anchoringlocation. The controller, processor 410, marine system 120, marinedevice, sensor module 106, and/or computing device 450 may, for example,provide means for performing operation 902. Operation 904 may comprisedisplaying an alarm zone indicator based on the calculated alarm zone.The controller, processor 410, display 440, and/or computing device 450may, for example, provide means for performing operation 904. Operation906 may comprise receiving user inputs editing and/or confirming thealarm zone. The controller, processor 410, display 440, and/or computingdevice 450 may, for example, provide means for performing operation 906.

At operation 908, the method 900 may comprise displaying an indicationthat the alarm zone is set. The controller, processor 410, display 440,and/or computing device 450 may, for example, provide means forperforming operation 908. Operation 908 may be optional.

At operation 910, the method 900 may comprise monitoring the currentlocation of other objects, the anchor, and/or the marine vessel inrelation to the alarm zone. The controller, processor 410, sensor module106, mobile media device, marine device, position sensor 445, and/orcomputing device 450 may, for example, provide means for performingoperation 910. At operation 912, the method 900 may comprise displayinga notification to the user in response to the current location of otherobjects, the anchor, and/or the marine vessel moving within apredetermined threshold of the set alarm zone. The controller, processor410, sensor module 106, display 440, and/or computing device 450 may,for example, provide means for performing operation 912.

FIGS. 27-30 illustrate flowcharts of a system, method, and/or computerprogram product according to an example embodiment. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocksin the flowcharts, may be implemented by various means, such as hardwareand/or a computer program product comprising one or morecomputer-readable mediums having computer readable program instructionsstored thereon. For example, one or more of the procedures describedherein may be embodied by computer program instructions of a computerprogram product. In this regard, the computer program product(s) whichembody the procedures described herein may be stored by, for example,the memory 420 and executed by, for example, the processor 410 orcontroller. As will be appreciated, any such computer program productmay be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus to producea machine, such that the computer program product including theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus creates means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block(s). Further, the computer program product may compriseone or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums on which thecomputer program instructions may be stored such that the one or morecomputer-readable memories can direct a computer or other programmabledevice to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computeror other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implementedprocess such that the instructions which execute on the computer orother programmable apparatus implement the functions specified in theflowchart block(s).

In some embodiments, the method for operating various marine devices mayinclude additional, optional operations, and/or the operations describedabove may be modified or augmented.

Conclusion

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosures set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thesepresent disclosures pertain having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosedand that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, although theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe exampleembodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elementsand/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinationsof elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In thisregard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functionsthan those explicitly described above are also contemplated within thescope of the present disclosure. Although specific terms are employedherein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation.

1. A marine electronic device configured to provide possible anchoringlocations to a user for a marine vessel, the marine electronic devicecomprising: a display; and a processor configured to: receive marinedata from a marine system connected to the marine vessel, determine oneor more anchoring locations, generate an anchorage quality index foreach of the one or more anchoring locations based on at least thereceived marine data, and cause the display to show the one or moreanchoring locations with a visual indication of the correspondinganchorage quality index for the one or more anchoring locations, whereinthe visual indication is variable and reflects the correspondinganchorage quality index for an anchoring location, wherein the one ormore anchoring locations includes at least a first anchoring locationand a second anchoring location, and wherein a first visual indicationassociated with the first anchoring location is different than a secondvisual indication associated with the second anchoring location in aninstance in which a first anchorage quality index associated with thefirst anchoring location is different than a second anchorage qualityindex associated with the second anchoring location.
 2. The marineelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the marine data includes sonardata.
 3. The marine electronic device of claim 2, wherein the sonar dataincludes seabed composition data.
 4. The marine electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to cause the display toshow the one or more anchoring locations as one or more areas on a map.5. The marine electronic device of claim 1, wherein the visualindication is a color along a color scale.
 6. The marine electronicdevice of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to cause thedisplay to show the one or more anchoring locations in the form of aheat map overlaid on a map.
 7. The marine electronic device of claim 1,wherein the one or more areas are circular.
 8. The marine electronicdevice of claim 7, wherein a radius of each of the one or more circularareas is based on at least a corresponding water depth.
 9. The marineelectronic device of claim 7, wherein the visual indication is depictedas a radius size of each of the one or more circular areas.
 10. Themarine electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to generate the anchorage quality index for each of the oneor more anchoring locations based on at least an anchoring time input bythe user.
 11. The marine electronic device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: receive real-time environmentaldata, and update the one or more anchoring locations based on at leastthe received real-time environmental data.
 12. The marine electronicdevice of claim 11, wherein the real-time environmental data includes atleast one of wind data, tide data, and weather data.
 13. A marineelectronic device configured to provide possible anchoring locations toa user for a marine vessel, the marine electronic device comprising: adisplay; and a processor configured to: receive one or more user inputs,determine one or more anchoring areas for the marine vessel in responseto the one or more user inputs, generate an anchorage quality index foreach of the one or more anchoring areas, and cause the display to show aheat map indicating the anchorage quality index of the one or moreanchoring areas.
 14. The marine electronic device of claim 13, whereinthe processor is configured to generate the anchorage quality index foreach of the one or more anchoring areas based on at least real-timedata.
 15. The marine electronic device of claim 14, wherein thereal-time data includes at least one of sonar data, weather data, andtide data.
 16. The marine electronic device of claim 13, wherein theprocessor is configured to generate the anchorage quality index for eachof the one or more anchoring areas based on at least crowd-sourced data.17. The marine electronic device of claim 13, wherein the processor isconfigured to determine the one or more anchoring areas based on atleast one of a boat profile, chart data, and depth data.
 18. The marineelectronic device of claim 17, wherein the boat profile includes atleast one of an anchor type, a number of anchors, a line length, a bowheight, and a scope ratio.
 19. The marine electronic device of claim 13,wherein the one or more user inputs includes an anchoring time.
 20. Themarine electronic device of claim 13, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: generate a swing buffer distance required for the marinevessel for anchoring in each of the one or more anchoring areas, andcause the display to show a swing buffer overlay on the heat mapindicating the generated swing buffer distance for each of the one ormore anchoring areas.
 21. A method for planning where to anchor a marinevessel, the method comprising: receiving one or more user inputs;determining one or more anchoring areas for the marine vessel inresponse to the one or more user inputs; generating an anchorage qualityindex for each of the one or more anchoring areas; and causing a displayto show a heat map indicating the anchorage quality index of the one ormore anchoring areas.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the display ispart of a multi-function display on the marine vessel.
 23. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the display is part of a mobile media device.
 24. Amarine electronic device configured to provide possible anchoringlocations to a user for a marine vessel, the marine electronic devicecomprising: a display; and a processor configured to: receive one ormore user inputs, determine one or more anchoring areas for the marinevessel in response to the one or more user inputs, generate an anchoragequality index for each of the one or more anchoring areas, generate aswing buffer distance required for the marine vessel for anchoring ineach of the one or more anchoring areas, and cause the display to show amap of the one or more anchoring areas indicating the swing bufferdistance and anchorage quality index generated for each of the one ormore anchoring areas.
 25. The marine electronic device of claim 24,wherein the one or more user inputs includes at least one of an anchortype, a number of anchors, a line length, a bow height, and a scoperatio. 26.-37. (canceled)